New sanctions for the Ortega government by the United States and the European Union
Just the day that Daniel Ortega began his fourth term as president, the pressure measures on Nicaragua were extended by the United States and the European Union. Strong economic sanctions and travel bans are the sanctions that stand out the most.
Camila Ortega Murillo and Laureano Ortega Murillo, who are the children of Daniel Ortega and Ortega's vice president and wife, Rosario Murillo, head the list of those sanctioned by the European Union.
The statement states that the sanctions are granted for the following:
" Serious human rights violations, including the repression of civil society, support for fraudulent presidential and parliamentary elections and for undermining democracy and the rule of law".
The Defense Minister, Rosa Adelina Barahona, is on the list of the 6 sanctioned by Washington, due to the questioning of the elections where Daniel Ortega was re-elected.
In turn, an order was issued to withdraw the visas of 116 people linked to the Ortega government. In which they stand out: mayors, prosecutors, ministers, university professors and public security officials. The names of the latter were not disclosed in the document issued by the US State Department.
According to the document issued by Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, the 116 people had been sanctioned for manipulating the elections and "undermining democracy in Nicaragua."
The decision to apply the sanctions by the Treasury is due to the fact that the Ortega-Murillo leadership carries out a systematic attack against the country's democracy. "The persecution of the political opposition and the arbitrary arrest of dissidents" were the main causes of the decision, added the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson.
Generals Jesús Pulido Ortiz and Bayardo Ramón Rodríguez Ruiz, join Minister Barahona in being sanctioned for the brutal repression in peaceful demonstrations where more than 300 people died and another 2,000 were injured, in addition to the arrest of opposition political figures.
In addition, the Treasury sanctioned the authorities in charge of regulating media communications, because, according to the statement, they managed a horde of bots on social networks, in charge of spreading false information to influence the population.
Joe Biden's stance
Joe Biden, President of the United States, said in November that the elections were a "sham" and said that those elections "were not free or fair, and certainly not democratic."
The United States, after the elections, ordered the withdrawal of visas for Ortega and Murillo, while the European Union applied the same sanction to Murillo and one of his sons with Ortega.
Law enforcement detained more than 40 dissidents, including potential presidential candidates, days before the November elections. This guaranteed a triumph for Daniel Ortega.
Currently, according to the State Department, there are 170 political prisoners in Nicaragua.