NICARAGUAN President Daniel Ortega warned against “opening the road to anarchy” as the US and right-wing opposition groups continue to press for the ousting of the Sandinista government and force early elections.

In an interview with Euronews on Monday night Mr Ortega hit back at accusations of mass opposition to his rule in Nicaragua, insisting that he maintains the support of large sections of the population.

Support for Mr Ortega has in fact grown since he was re-elected as Nicaragua’s president with 38 per cent of the vote in 2006. In the most recent election, in 2016, Mr Ortega swept home with 72 per cent.

He claimed US interference in Nicaragua was aimed at toppling the Sandinistas and replacing it with a pro-Washington government. “What we have witnessed is an attempted coup,” he said. “This is what the people have suffered.”

He was speaking as the US ramped up pressure on the Sandinista government on Monday, issuing visa restrictions for a number of government officials and suggesting it may act to impose sanctions.

Washington condemned “rights abuses” by Mr Ortega and called for early elections to “restore democracy in Nicaragua.”

The Trump administration confirmed in a statement that it was committing an additional $1.5 million (£1.14m) “to continue support for freedom and democracy in Nicaragua, providing a critical lifeline for civil society, human rights organisations, and independent media currently under threat from the Ortega regime.”

Mr Ortega warned that this was an attempt by the US to launch a “soft coup,” following the failure of armed right-wing opposition to turn unrest into regime change.

Government forces recently began dismantling the roadblocks that had been established across the country, damaging the economy.

In the clean-up operation security forces discovered weapons used to attack pro-government groups and the police, including a huge arsenal of weapons at the occupied National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in the capital Managua.

Mr Ortega dismissed calls for early elections, saying there had been a recent vote, with the Sandinistas winning 71 per cent in the 2017 parliamentary elections.

“To follow that path is to open the door to anarchy in the country. A broken Nicaragua would be taken over by drug trafficking,” he asserted.