US sanctions three top Nicaraguan officials over violence, corruption

Anti-government activists hold a demonstration in Managua, Nicaragua, on July 3, 2018, demanding justice for those killed in recent protests, and the immediate resignation of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo. (Photo by AFP)

The United States has imposed sanctions on three senior Nicaraguan officials, including the country’s police chief, accusing them of attacking anti-government protesters, human rights abuses and corruption.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Thursday that the sanctioned individuals included Francisco Javier Diaz Madriz, a commissioner with Nicaragua’s National Police, a man associated with violence perpetrated by pro-government groups and a governing party official.

The sanctions were imposed on the officials because of concerns over the “ongoing crisis in Nicaragua,” including “violence perpetrated by security forces and others that have resulted in the death of at least 220 demonstrators, and nearly 1,500 injured,” the statement said.

Under the sanctions, assets belonging to the targeted officials in the US are blocked and American citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them or entities they own or control, according to the Treasury statement.

“The violence perpetrated by the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega against the Nicaraguan people and the efforts of those close to the Ortega regime to illicitly enrich themselves is deeply disturbing and completely unacceptable,” said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

The US State Department also announced that the penalties sought to “expose and hold accountable those responsible for the Nicaraguan government’s ongoing violence and intimidation campaign against its people.”

Since April, Nicaraguan people have been protesting against Ortega’s proposed overhaul of the country’s welfare system. Protestors have accused the 72-year old president, along with his wife Vice President Rosario Murillo, of establishing nepotism, a dictatorship, and practicing brutal repression.

In this file photo taken on November 06, 2016 Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega (R) delivers a speech next to his wife Rosario Murillo after voting in Managua during the presidential election. (By AFP)

Ortega has countered by calling the protesters as “vandals” and “terrorists” who are trying to destroy the country’s long-held peace.

The president, whose third consecutive term ends in January 2022, has refused a demand by opponents to move up elections from 2021 to March 2019.


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