The European Union (EU) extended for the third year in a row the sanctions imposed against high-ranking officials and personalities linked to the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. The decision comes after the dictatorship expelled the head of the European delegation in Nicaragua, Bettina Muscheidt, and broke diplomatic relations with the Netherlands.
The European Council — an institution in which the governments of the 27 member countries are represented — reported this Tuesday, October 13, that has extended the legal framework, on which these sanctions are baseduntil October 15, 2023.
This sanctions regime was imposed by the EU in October 2019 against individuals and entities “responsible for violations or abuses of human rights or for the repression of civil society and the democratic opposition in Nicaragua,” as well as against those who carry out “policies or activities that undermine democracy and the rule of law.”
Since this legal framework was created, the European bloc has sanctioned 21 high-ranking officials of the regime, including Vice President and First Lady Murillo and their children Juan Carlos, Camila and Laureano Ortega Murillo.
these 21 Nicaraguans cannot travel to any EU country and have their assets immobilized in Europe and, in addition, European citizens and companies are subject to the prohibition of making funds available to them.
have also been punished three institutions: the National Police, the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) and the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Post Office (Telcor).
In a statement, the European Council warned that “the EU is constantly following events in Nicaragua, and may decide to renew the sanctions and modify the list of target entities or persons depending on events in the country.”
After expulsion of ambassador of the European Union
In the statement, the 27 States emphasize that the “decision comes after the unjustified decision of the Nicaraguan regime to expel the head of the EU Delegation from the country, and cut diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of the Netherlandsas well as the reciprocal response of the EU to declare the head of the Mission of the Republic of Nicaragua to the EU as persona ‘non grata’”.
At the end of last September, Ortega ordered the expulsion of the head of the European delegation in Nicaragua, Bettina Muscheidt, and days later announced the breaking of diplomatic relations with the Netherlands. In response, the EU declared on October 10 “non grata” the head of the Nicaraguan mission in Brussels, Zoila Yanira Muller Goff.
The bloc ensures that “the EU reaffirms its continued commitment to the Nicaraguan people and to the defense of democracy, the rule of law and human rights.”
“The current political crisis in Nicaragua —he continues— must be resolved through a genuine dialogue between the government and the opposition. The EU remains open to dialogue with Nicaragua, provided that this dialogue is carried out in a respectful manner”.
