On Monday, the Biden administration slapped sanctions on Nicaragua’s Public Ministry and nine Nicaraguan government officials, including the country’s energy minister and vice foreign minister.
The sanctions were in response to Nicaragua’s November 7th election that saw President Daniel Ortega secure a fourth term, which the US deemed a “sham” before it even happened. Ortega is accused of jailing his political opponents, but there were other candidates on the ballot.
The UK coordinated action with the US and sanctioned several Nicaraguan officials Monday, including Vice President Rosario Murillo, the wife of President Ortega. Murillo has been under US sanctions since 2018.
The sanctions were expected and came after a week of threats from President Biden and other administration officials. Last week, Biden signed a bill into law calling for sanctions against Nicaragua that passed through Congress with strong bipartisan support.
A State Department official told Reuters that the sanctions will be a first in a series of steps to put pressure on Nicaragua that will “ramp up over time.” This suggests Nicaragua could end up under heavy sanctions similar to Venezuela, where the US has used claims of election fraud to wage an economic war on the country. History shows that US sanctions do nothing to change a country’s government and only hurt the civilian population of the target country.
The strange part is that the nations Washington supports and influences are the one providing 90% of the illegal border crossers. Very very few Nicaraguan’s are involved.
Well, at least we’re getting something good out of the “the nations Washington supports.”