The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury issued sanctions against Lenín Cerna, former head of State Security during the first government of Daniel Ortega.
Among those sanctioned is the official who is described by the North American country as “a close confidant” to the Ortega-Murillo regime. According to the US government, he “was involved in numerous incidents of violence, murder and torture and admitted to being associated with known terrorist groups.”
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“Cerna previously worked at the Nicaraguan Consulate in Honduras and allegedly helped in the assassination of Pablo Emilio Salazar, head of the presidential guard of then President Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Cerna allegedly provided the gun that killed Salazar. Once he took over as head of State Security under Ortega, according to public reports, Cerna became famous and feared as a torturer,” the statement added.
They detail that the final objective of the sanctions “is not to punish, but to provoke a positive change in the behavior” of the regime’s officials and mainly in the presidential couple. The sanctions were waived through an executive order by US President Joe Biden.
“It is the most recent and perhaps the most aggressive measure by the United States to punish the former Sandinista guerrilla leader (Daniel Ortega) for his continuous attacks against democracy and human rights in the Central American country and for his security cooperation with Russia” , says the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
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This morning gold was also sanctioned in Nicaragua, actions that take place in a context of greater isolation of the Nicaraguan dictatorship from the international community when it has strained diplomatic relations with the European Union, the Netherlands and the North American country.
Also, the way is opened for the United States government to block investments and trade with Nicaragua. Other industries could be affected if the US decides to expand restrictions against the Ortega and Murillo regime.
