The United States Department of the Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), imposed a series of sanctions on entities linked to the Ortega dictatorship, including the mining company Capital Mining Investment Nicaragua, which, according to the White House, belongs to Laureano Ortega Murillo, the “favorite son” of the dictatorial couple.
The North American country considers that gold represents “Nicaragua’s most exported raw material” and, for that reason, the new restrictions aim to degrade the capacity of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to manipulate the sector and benefit from the corrupt operations of Capital Mining».
Investigations affirm that Capital Mining and the International Mining Company (COMINTSA), directed by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Salvador Mansell Castrilloare “government-affiliated companies that generate income” for the Nicaraguan regime.
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Capital Mining’s main function is to be “an intermediary in the mining sector” that charges other mining companies for doing business in Nicaragua,” details a statement from OFAC.
Ortega Murillo’s company is designated pursuant to EO 13851 (Blocking of assets of certain persons contributing to the situation in Nicaragua), as amended, for operating or having operated in the gold sector of the Nicaraguan economy.
On its official website Facebookthe mining company describes itself as “specialists in mineral extraction” and states that they have “a team of highly qualified professionals with the latest equipment and technology, which allows us to offer a service of the highest quality.”
The work carried out by Capital Mining includes the “extraction of metallic minerals, such as gold, silver, copper, zinc and iron” and the “extraction of non-metallic minerals, such as coal, oil, natural gas and industrial minerals.
Miners rejected the company
In September 2022, at least six mining cooperatives in the La Libertad and Santo Domingo municipalities, in Chontales, denounced that the general director of the Directorate of Energy and Mines, Norman Henriquezordered the closure of the operations of the Los Ángeles plant, in Río San Juan, to provide the mining concession to Capital Mining.
«The leaders firmly agreed that they will defend the right to free organization (cooperatives) and the right granted to them by Law 387 (Special Law on Exploration and Exploitation of Mines) with its reform in article 39, which is being denied to them. by Henríquez,” details the statement published on the website of Santo Domingo Comunica.
The miners expressed their displeasure with “the company imposed by the Mines management, Capital Mining, and we reiterate that we are not going to allow our rights as small miners to be curtailed and violated.”
“We reject the lies and accusations made against the small mining sector as causes of the destruction of the environment, an excuse used by the director of Mines to consolidate and justify the creation of the company Capital Mining,” states the Santo Domingo Comunica page. .
The warnings from the members of these cooperatives were made after they, and the artisanal miners of San Carlos, Río San Juan, sent letters, on repeated occasions, to the Minister of Energy and Mines, Salvador Mansell. However, none of his requests received answers and the establishment of Capital Mining was consolidated, affecting the economy of hundreds of workers.
US Management
As a result of the sanctions imposed by the Treasury, all property and interests owned in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC, including Capital Mining.
Likewise, the statement states that “all entities that belong, directly or indirectly, individually or collectively, 50 percent or in a greater proportion, to one or more blocked persons are blocked.”
The United States affirms that these measures “are taken in response to the regime’s continued repression against the people of Nicaragua. “The ultimate purpose of sanctions is not to punish, but to achieve a positive change in behavior,” they maintain.
