“The repression and abuse by the Ortega government and those who support it are forcing the United States to act,” Biden said in a text released after the controversial November 7 Nicaraguan elections that returned Daniel Ortega to power for a fourth consecutive term.
“I have decided that it is in the interests of the United States to restrict and suspend entry into the United States” of “members of the Nicaraguan government led by President Daniel Ortega, including his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo,” and all those involved in actions “which attacking democratic institutions ”in the country, he added.
The long list of persona non gratae also includes deputies and their cabinet members, mayors and their deputies accused of “violating human rights to punish peaceful demonstrators,” and a number of high-ranking government officials. institutions, penitentiary services, the judiciary and the Ministry of the Interior.
In addition to the state apparatus, everyone who participated in acts condemned by Washington is also covered, says Biden’s text.
Finally, the wives and children of authorized persons are also prohibited from entering the United States.
The US Treasury already announced on Monday financial sanctions against Nicaragua’s federal prosecutor and nine high-ranking officials in the Latin American country “in response to a mock election organized by President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo.”
The threat of such measures has disappeared since the November 7 inspection in the absence of the opposition, following the imprisonment of Ortega’s main opponents.
Biden soon called the election a “farce,” which, unsurprisingly, allowed Daniel Ortega to be re-elected to a fourth presidential term.
