The United States suspended and restricted the entry of Daniel Ortega, Rosario Murillo and any official of their regime to the United States, including spouses, sons and daughters, as part of the pressure measures of this country to achieve the restoration of democracy and freedoms. civilians in Nicaragua.
“I have determined that it is in the interest of the United States to restrict and suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants and non-immigrants, of members of the Government of Nicaragua, led by President Daniel Ortega, including his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo, and others described in this proclamation are those who formulate, implement or benefit from policies or actions that undermine or damage democratic institutions or prevent the return to democracy in Nicaragua ”, cites the order signed by the US President Joe Biden.
The restrictions detailed in the presidential order include: members of the Government, including elected officials and their staff, mayors, vice mayors, political secretaries, officials of the Nicaraguan security services, including Army, regular police, members of the Directorate of Special Operationss and members of para-police or paramilitary groups.
In addition, it also includes officials from the penitentiary administration, members of the Judicial Power, the Public Ministry and the Ministry of the Interior, as well as operators of regulatory agencies, parastatal companies and higher education professors.
These restrictions also apply to non-governmental persons who act as agents, emissaries or managers of the officials affected by the measure, in addition to their spouses and children.
“The generalized impunity for crimes committed against opposition actors; the persistent corruption practiced by Nicaraguan government officials in the performance of public functions that has eroded democratic institutions; and the continued failure of President Daniel Ortega, Vice President Rosario Murillo, Nicaraguan government officials, and others to support the rule of law, human rights, and other high-priority principles for the United States require a strong response. ” quotes the presidential order of Joe Biden.
These measures are in addition to the new round sanctions imposed this Monday by the Treasury Departmentor of the United States, which reached nine operators of the Ortega regime, including the Superintendent of Banks, Luis Ángel Montenegro, and the Vice Minister of Finance and Public Credit, José Adrián Chavarría, who signed the contracts and agreements of this portfolio, after the Minister Iván Acosta was sanctioned in May 2020, the Minister of Energy, Salvador Mansell; the director of the National Energy Institute, José Castañeda; and Rodolfo López, the manager of the electricity distribution companies and of the Load Dispatch of the National Electricity Transmission Company.
“The repressive and abusive acts of the Ortega government and those who support it force the United States to act. The Ortega government’s crackdown on opposition leaders, civil society leaders and journalists in preparation for the Nicaraguan presidential and legislative elections of November 2021 damages the institutions and processes essential to the functioning of a democracy. The authoritarian and undemocratic actions of the Ortega government have paralyzed the electoral process and stripped the right of Nicaraguan citizens to elect their leaders in free and fair elections, ”states Joe Biden’s presidential order.
The United States maintains Nicaragua as a threat to its security
President Biden issued another order on the situation in Nicaragua in which he determines that the acts of the Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo regime imply a risk to the “national security of the United States,” endorsing similar measures. toadopted by former President Donald Trump.
“On November 27, 2018, through Executive Order 13851, the President declared a national emergency in accordance with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 USC 1701-1706) to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to security. national and foreign policy of the United States. States constituted by the situation in Nicaragua ”, cites the order issued by Biden.
“The situation in Nicaragua, including the Nicaraguan government’s violent response to the protests that began on April 18, 2018, and the systematic dismantling and undermining of democratic institutions and the rule of law by the Ortega regime, its use of indiscriminate violence and repressive tactics. against the civilian population, as well as its corruption that led to the destabilization of the Nicaraguan economy, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared on November 27, 2018, must continue in effect beyond November 27, 2021 ”, he adds.
