The United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned this Friday the Nicaraguan state company Eniminas, as well as its president, Ruy López Delgado, in response to the decision of the administration of President Daniel Ortega to “deepen its relationship with Russia while waging war with Ukraine.”
The sanctions —which Ortega considers to violate human rights— arrive just a week after the IX Summit of the Americas, from which Nicaragua was excluded, as were Cuba and Venezuela, under accusations of human rights violations and anti-democratic practices.
It also occurs days after the National Assembly, dominated by the ruling party, approve the entry of foreign troopsincluding Russian ones “for humanitarian purposes”.
“As the Ortega-Murillo regime becomes increasingly involved with Russia and continues to fill its coffers with significant revenues exploited from the Nicaraguan gold sector, the regime has turned its back on the Nicaraguan people, neglecting their livelihoods for the profits of the regime, wielded this Friday the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC, for its acronym in English) of the USA.
The Ortega government created the Nicaraguan Mining Company (ENIMINAS) in 2017 “to consolidate its control over the mining sector,” which has made high profits in recent years, said the Treasury Department office.
According to Washington, in 2021, Nicaraguan gold exports to the United States increased by thirty percent, totaling more than 744 million dollars. These exports represented 79% of all Nicaraguan gold exports during the year.
The sanction against López Delgado is the third in succession against a president of the state company. Ramón Calderón Vindell and Francisco López Centeno were previously designated on the list.
After the sanctions, “the properties and interests in the property of these people who are in the United States are blocked,” the statement said. In addition, any entity that is directly or indirectly owned by the designees is blocked.
The US also prohibits all US persons from involving their property and interests in property of blocked or designated persons.
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