US Treasury Department Sanctions Nicaraguan Attorney General for Human Rights Violations
The office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on Wendy Carolina Morales Urbina, the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Nicaragua, for her role in the illegal confiscation of properties belonging to opponents of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
The Treasury Department stated that Morales Urbina played a key role in the illegal seizure of properties belonging to independent media, international organizations, and political prisoners. She used her position to coordinate a crackdown on dissent and confiscate assets from political opponents without legal basis.
Brian Nelson, the undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, condemned Morales Urbina for facilitating a coordinated campaign to repress dissent and undermine human rights in Nicaragua. The Treasury Department also highlighted Morales Urbina’s role as a voice of the Ortega-Murillo regime in international forums, where she defends human rights violations committed by the Nicaraguan government.
Morales Urbina, who was appointed as Attorney General in 2019 by Ortega, is accused of allowing the regime to steal real estate from independent media, international organizations, and political prisoners. The US also mentioned in the executive order that Ortega governs with a close-knit group of trusted figures in the police, military, and parliament.
The sanctions come after President Ortega expelled 222 political prisoners from Nicaragua and stripped them of their citizenship, declaring them traitors who can never hold public office in the country. The US is targeting key actors in the Ortega-Murillo regime who are complicit in human rights violations and the suppression of dissent.
The actions of Morales Urbina and the Ortega-Murillo regime have contributed to the deterioration of the human rights situation in Nicaragua, prompting international condemnation and sanctions from the United States.