April 16, 2024
Daniel Ortega (centro) foi eleito com a esposa Rosario Murillo (à esq.) como vice-presidente

Biden approves bill calling for more sanctions against Nicaragua

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, on Wednesday (10) approved a law proposing more sanctions and other punitive measures against the government of the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, who consolidated his grip on power in the elections Which the White House denounced as a hoax.

Biden signed the bill a week after it was finally approved by the US Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. The US President stressed that Ortega organized Sunday’s elections (7) as “a gestural election that was neither free nor fair.”

A senior State Department official told Reuters on Tuesday that the Biden government plans to announce new sanctions on Nicaragua “very soon,” saying it would only be the first in a series of measures the Biden government has taken. United State which will increase with time.

Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla leader, won his fourth consecutive term after arresting his political opponents and cracking down on critical media in elections that drew international condemnation before and after.

On Monday night, Ortega mocked US critics as “Yankee imperialists” and accused them of trying to undermine the electoral process in Nicaragua. Cuba, Venezuela and Russia offered support to Ortega.

The White House announced Biden’s approval of the bill as members of the OAS (Organization of American States) gather in Guatemala for a previously scheduled meeting, as the United States is working with other countries on what it hopes will be a strong resolution against Ortega. .