The Biden administration imposed visa restrictions on more than 350 members of the Nicaraguan National Police to promote accountability for their actions against civil society, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller announced Thursday.
The move follows President Biden's presidential proclamation aimed at safeguarding democracy in Nicaragua and targets those involved in attacks on civil society, including threats, harassment, and unjust detention.
The U.S. is urging Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo to cease these actions and restore democratic institutions.
Last year, the Nicaraguan government exiled more than 300 opposition figures, stripping them of their nationality. Far more Nicaraguans have fled into exile themselves to escape the repression that followed massive 2018 protests that Ortega dubbed a failed coup with international backing.
In September, Nicaragua’s Sandinista-controlled National Assembly approved criminal code changes that add new criminal statutes, including one that sanctions anyone who promotes, requests or facilitates economic, commercial or financial sanctions against the government.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Office said in a recent report that the government is “persecuting not only those who express dissident opinions, but also any person or organization that acts independently or is not directly under its control.”
