US goes tough on President Daniel Ortega over human rights violations

Admin l Thursday, June 10, 2021

 

WASHINGTON – The Untied States of America has decided to wield the sledge hammer on President Daniel Ortega  by imposing sanctions on prominent politicians in his government over his recalcitrant stance on human rights violations .

In the past few weeks, Ortega has continued his crackdown on opposition including arrest and detention of Presidential candidates Cristiana Chamorro, Arturo Cruz, Félix Maradiaga, Juan Sebastian Chamorro and other civil society and opposition leaders.  Ortega moved a step further by clamping down on independent media in a bid to muzzle press freedom.

In a statement, Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken said the United States condemns these actions in the most unequivocal terms and holds President Ortega and those complicit in these actions responsible for their safety and well-being.

“In response to this wave of oppression and due to Nicaragua’s failure to implement now-overdue electoral reforms called for by the Organization of American States and backed by the UN Human Rights Council, the United States is imposing sanctions on several members of the Ortega regime for their complicity in the Ortega regime’s activities”, Blinken said in the statement.

Those affected in the sanction include an advisor and daughter of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, Camila Antonia Ortega Murillo, who is also the coordinator of the National Commission for the Creative Economy; Leonardo Ovidio Reyes Ramirez, the President of the Central Bank of Nicaragua; Julio Modesto Rodriguez Balladares, a military general and executive director of the military’s pension and investment fund; and Edwin Ramon Castro Rivera, a National Assembly Deputy.

According to Blinken, the sanctions are costs for those who support or carry out the Ortega regime’s repression and that the United States will continue to use all diplomatic and economic tools at its disposal to support Nicaraguans’ calls for greater freedom and accountability as well as free and fair elections.

The US calls on The region and the international community to stand with the Nicaraguan people in support of their right to freely choose their government and their freedom from repression and human rights abuses.

The US said that since  President Ortega is defying the international community, it  will continue to respond in a corresponding manner.