:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/XGYYJYJ7IZFZNIOPPTSXLK4WNU.jpg "The US sanctioned the attorney general of Nicaragua for being an accomplice of the dictator Daniel Ortega")
The United States Imposes Economic Sanctions on Nicaraguan Attorney General Wendy Morales for Alleged Repression
In a move that further escalates tensions between the United States and the Nicaraguan government, the US Treasury Department has imposed economic sanctions on Nicaragua’s Attorney General Wendy Morales. The US accuses Morales of being complicit in the repression carried out by Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.
The Treasury Department has blocked Morales’ accounts and assets in the United States and prohibited transactions with her. According to the US government, Morales is a key actor in the Nicaraguan regime’s persecution of political prisoners and civil society.
“The Attorney General of Nicaragua, in coordination with the Ortega and Murillo regime, has used her position to facilitate a campaign of repression against dissent, confiscating properties of political opponents of the Government without legal basis,” denounces Brian Nelson, Undersecretary of the Treasury.
The US also claims that Morales was instrumental in the dispossession of properties belonging to political prisoners who were released last year. The Biden Administration alleges that Morales has proven to be loyal to Ortega and has significant power to determine who receives confiscated properties.
Furthermore, the US considers Morales’ appointment as attorney general in 2019 to be illegal due to her failure to comply with the requirement of having practiced law during the ten years prior to the appointment.
In addition to the sanctions on Morales, the Ortega regime’s legal actions against Germany and Israel in the International Court of Justice for alleged genocide in the Gaza Strip could lead to accusations of crimes against humanity. The United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua has recommended action against Ortega and his senior officials for potential crimes against humanity in Nicaragua.
Nicaraguan jurist Uriel Pineda believes that Ortega’s lawsuits against Germany and Israel may be a preemptive move to counter potential legal actions against him.
The escalating tensions between the US and Nicaragua reflect the deepening political crisis in the Central American country, as the international community closely monitors the situation.