US Brings Sanctions Against Nicaragua AG

(USNewsBreak.com) – The United States regularly sanctions people, entities, and countries that it determines violate foreign policy, pose a threat to national security, sponsor terrorism, or violate human rights. The State and Treasury Departments use these financial and trade restrictions to spark behavior changes. Nicaraguan Attorney General Wendy Carolina Morales Urbina has become the latest to end up on the sanctions list.

The Treasury Department announced the restrictions against Morales Urbina on Thursday, March 21, “for being complicit in the Orega-Murillo regime’s oppression.” The US government has accused her of a number of violations related to the “unjust persecution of political prisoners and civil society within the country.”

US Sanctions Nicaragua Attorney General Over Alleged Role in ‘Ruthless’ Oppression Under Ortega
👉https://t.co/8uu90T24HM pic.twitter.com/wuEAqs2uxw

— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) March 22, 2024

President Daniel Ortega has ruled the Nicaraguan government for decades. He was the leader of the Latin American country from 1979 to 1990 and again since 2007. He is in the middle of serving his third consecutive term and fourth overall. Fraught with oppression and authoritarianism, his reign prompted his constituents to lash out. Ortega responded by punishing them for doing so.

The sanctions against Morales Urbina stem from her conduct in 2018, when Nicaraguan citizens began protesting the government, leading to repression. The Treasury Department has accused the president and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, of various actions, including suppressing protests, incarcerating political opponents, silencing the media’s critical voices, and consolidating power. The Nicaraguan government exiled many whom it didn’t imprison. The US has also accused the regime of stealing real property that belonged to those it exiled or incarcerated.

In addition, according to the State Department, Morales Urbina supported Ortega’s “move to strip exiled political prisoners of their citizenship.”

As a result of the sanctions, any property belonging to the Nicaraguan AG that she may have in the US is “blocked and must be reported to” the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The restrictions also prohibit Morales Urbina from making or receiving contributions.