WASHINGTON – The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on three Nicaraguan officials over their support for leftist President Daniel Ortega’s government.
President Donald Trump’s administration has kept up a steady stream of sanctions announcements since the November election that handed Democrat Joe Biden a win. President-elect Biden is to be sworn in to office on Jan. 20.
The U.S. Treasury Department said it blacklisted officials including the vice president of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court in an effort to target those continuing to assist the Ortega government’s efforts to undermine democracy.
“This administration remains committed to targeting the Ortega regime by seeking out and exposing those who continue to suppress the democratic will of the Nicaraguan people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.
The officials blacklisted are Marvin Ramiro Aguilar Garcia, vice president of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court of Justice; Walmaro Antonio Gutierrez Mercadeo, a National Assembly deputy; and Fidel De Jesus Dominguez Alvarez, chief of the national police in the city of Leon.
In separate action on Monday, the Trump administration slapped Cuba-related sanctions on three businesses it accused of being run by the Cuban military and evading existing sanctions.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez lashed out on Twitter at the measure, the latest U.S. sanctions on the country by the Trump administration on top of the nearly 60-year-old trade embargo.
“Cuba will move forward no matter how many entities they include on their spurious lists,” he said.
The companies blacklisted are Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., Financiera Cimex S.A. and Kave Coffee, S.A.