Hours before the inauguration of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, as president and vice president of Nicaragua, the European Union (EU) and the United States announced, separately, a series of sanctions against senior officials and institutions of the Ortega regime.
The EU sanctioned seven officials and three institutions: the National Police, the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) and the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Postal Services (Telcor). For its part, the United States did the same against three charges of the Nicaraguan military apparatus; two directives from Telcor, and another from Empresa Nicaragüense de Minas (Eniminas).
The sanctions were established in a coordinated manner, although both only agreed on one sanctioned: Nahima Janett Díaz Flores, director of Telcor and daughter of the director of the National Police, Chief Commissioner Francisco Díaz. The police chief has already been sanctioned by the European Union and the United States.
In addition to the three entities and Díaz Flores, the EU sanctioned two children of the presidential couple: Laureano Facundo and Camila Antonia Ortega Murillo. As well as the Superintendent of Banks, Luis Ángel Montenegro, and three magistrates of the Electoral Power, Lumberto Ignacio Campbell Hooker, Brenda Isabel Rocha Chacón and Cairo Amador Arrieta, the latter president and vice president of the CSE, respectively.
The US sanctions were imposed against the Minister of Defense, Rosa Adelina Barahona; Brigadier General Bayardo de Jesús Pulido Ortiz, head of the Personnel and Staff Department of the Nicaraguan Army; and the Chief of Staff of the Nicaraguan Army, Bayardo Ramón Rodríguez Ruiz. All three are members of the Military Institute of Social Welfare (IPSM), the Nicaraguan Army public investment fund.
Celina Delgado Castellón, deputy general director of Telcor, and retired general Ramón Humberto Calderón Vindell, president of the Eniminas board of directors, were also sanctioned.
CONFIDENCIAL collects in this text the arguments given, in separate statements, by the European Union and the United States, to punish the Ortega members.
EU arguments
Camila Antonia Ortega Murillo: She is the director of the Nicaragua Diseña platform and the Canal 13 television network. She is responsible for using Nicaragua Diseña to support the fraudulent presidential and parliamentary elections that took place on November 7, 2021, by creating false accounts on different platforms. social networks.
As the director of Channel 13, she has contributed to spreading the hate speech of the Ortega regime against the civic opposition and at the same time has limited editorial plurality and persecuted journalists and independent media in Nicaragua, annulling freedom of expression and all effective electoral competition.
It has played a central role in the suppression of political pluralism and in the definitive disarticulation of Nicaraguan democracy.
Laureano Facundo Ortega Murillo: He is closely involved in activities to support the presidential couple, as an advisor to the presidency. He has justified and supported the arbitrary and illegal imprisonment in Nicaragua of political leaders and presidential candidates, student and rural leaders or independent journalists, whom he has described as “terrorists.”
By contributing to the elimination of effective electoral competition, it has played a central role in the suppression of political pluralism and in the definitive dismantling of Nicaraguan democracy.
He is responsible for the operation of BanCorp (Corporate Bank), an entity whose main objective is to assist, sponsor and provide financial support to the repressive activities of Vice President Murillo.
Brenda Isabel Rocha Chacón: Since May 2021, she has been the president of the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), the body responsible for the preparation, holding and certification of elections that undermined democratic institutions and processes due to their lack of transparency, true opposition and debate. democratic.
The CSE deprived the opposition of the opportunity to stand in free elections and ensured that the elections were organized under undemocratic conditions.
The European Union justified, with the same argument as Rocha, the sanctions for Lumberto Ignacio Campbell Hooker Y Cairo Melvin Amador Arrieta.
Nahima Janett Díaz Flores: It is the director Telcor, who has been employed by the Nicaraguan authorities to silence the independent media.
In the exercise of his position, Díaz Flores has been a supporter of the Ortega regime, and has directed and carried out disinformation and surveillance activities of civil society and the democratic opposition through Telcor.
Role of the Army, Telcor and Eniminas
In the US case, the Treasury Department grouped those sanctioned by sector to which they belong. Regarding the Nicaraguan Army, he indicated that “not only did it refuse to order the disarmament and dismantling of the paramilitary or ‘para-police’ forces during and after the civic uprising, but also provided weapons to the ‘para-policemen’ who committed acts of violence against the Nicaraguans ”. For that reason they were sanctioned: Rosa Adelina Barahona, Bayardo de Jesús Pulido Ortiz Y Bayardo Ramón Rodríguez Ruiz.
Regarding Telcor, the US Administration recalled that “on November 1, 2021, Meta (formerly Facebook Inc.) eliminated a farm of trolls of more than 1000 social media accounts administered by the Ortega-Murillo regime, operated mainly by Telcor employees, to influence public opinion in favor of the regime and disseminate negative information ”.
Starting in April 2018, the trolley network attempted to discredit pro-democracy protesters and amplify pro-government content.
Since 2007, the regime has attacked the media in an effort to silence them, often using Telcor as a tool of repression.
For these reasons they were sanctioned: Nahima Janett Diaz Flores Y Celina Delgado Castellón.
Regarding Eniminas, the Treasury Department stressed that, since its creation in 2017, the Government “increased its participation in the mining sector, especially in the extraction of gold, through joint ventures with private companies.”
“The value of Nicaraguan gold exports has increased dramatically in recent years,” boosting profits for its allies in the private sector and increasing revenue for Eniminas, which is run by senior figures in the ruling party.
“Because Eniminas acts on behalf of the Government of Nicaragua, Eniminas officials are, therefore, officials of the Government of Nicaragua.” For this reason he was sanctioned Ramón Humberto Calderón Vindell.
