US bans Ortega, Murillo, and Government Officials from entry

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 and children, as part of the pressure applied to achieve the restoration of democracy and civic freedoms 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 nonimmigrants, of members of the Government of Nicaragua, led by President Daniel Ortega, including his spouse and Vice President Rosario Murillo, and others described in this proclamation who formulate, implement, or benefit from policies or actions that undermine or injure democratic institutions or impede the return to democracy in Nicaragua,” states the order signed by President Biden.

The restrictions detailed in the presidential order include members of the Government, including elected officials and their staff, mayors, deputy mayors, political secretaries, officials of the Nicaraguan security services, including the Army, regular police, members of the Directorate of Special Operations and members of parapolice or paramilitary groups.

In addition, it also includes officials from the penitentiary administration, members of the Judiciary, the Public Ministry, and the Ministry of the Interior, as well as operators in regulatory agencies, parastatal companies, and higher education.

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 widespread 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 principles of high priority to the United States demand a forceful response,” states the order.

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These measures add to the new round of sanctions imposed on Monday by the US Treasury Department which involve nine key figures in the Ortega regime including the Superintendent of Banks, Luis Angel Montenegro, and the deputy minister of the Economy and Credit, Jose Adrian Chavarria, who has been signing contracts and agreements after the minister, Ivan Acosta, was sanctioned in May of 2020. Others were, energy minister Salvador Mansell, the director of the National Energy Institute, Jose Castaneda, and the manager of electricity distribution for the National Electric Transmission Co., Rodolfo Lopez.

“The repressive and abusive acts of the Ortega government and those who support it compel the United States to act. The Ortega government’s crackdown on opposition leaders, civil society leaders, and journalists in preparation for the November 2021 Nicaraguan presidential and legislative elections harms the institutions and processes essential to a functioning democracy. The Ortega government’s undemocratic, authoritarian actions have crippled the electoral process and stripped away the right of Nicaraguan citizens to choose their leaders in free and fair elections,” states the presidential order.

The US maintains Nicaragua as a threat to its national security

President Biden issued another order on the situation in Nicaragua in which he determines that the actions of the Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo regime imply a risk to the "national security of the United States", endorsing the similar measures adopted by former President Donald Trump.

On November 27, 2018, by way of an executive order, President Trump declared a national emergency to address the unusual and extraordinary threat posed to national security and the foreign policy of the United States by the situation in Nicaragua, renewed by Joe 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,” added Biden.

This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times