The United States on Tuesday imposed an entry ban on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, his vice-president wife and his government, after elections that were internationally dismissed as illegitimate.
Before the November 7 vote, Nicaraguan authorities detained nearly 40 opposition figures, including seven would-be presidential challengers, assuring victory for long-time ruler Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo.
“The repressive and abusive acts of the Ortega government and those who support it compel the United States to act,” President Joe Biden said in a proclamation.
READ ALSO: Mexico Captures Wife Of Powerful Drug Cartel Boss
“The Ortega government’s undemocratic, authoritarian actions have crippled the electoral process and stripped away the right of Nicaraguan citizens to choose their leaders in free and fair elections.”
On Monday, the United States announced separate financial sanctions against Nicaraguan officials, describing the recent election as a “sham.”
Britain and Canada also announced new sanctions against prominent Nicaraguans.
“The physical and psychological abuse of political prisoners at the hands of police and prison authorities is intolerable and cannot stand,” Biden said, accusing Ortega of overseeing corrupt courts, police and security services.
A firebrand Marxist in his youth, Ortega ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, after leading a guerrilla army that ousted US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza.
Returning to power in 2007, he has won re-election four times, becoming increasingly dictatorial and quashing presidential term limits.
AFP
Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar, staffed by citizens from China and other countries who…
While addressing a news conference in Abuja on Monday, Nsien says with his qualifications and…
Johnson joined Spurs on transfer deadline day in September for £47.5 million ($59.6 million, 55.5…
Netanyahu went into hospital late on Sunday for the closely watched procedure as the nation's…
Leicester have topped the table for much of the season, but Monday's success was just…
Polygamy is a traditional and religious practice firmly anchored in the culture of Senegal where…