In a move to address the deteriorating democratic situation, the US State Department announced on August 19 that it is imposing visa restrictions on an additional 100 Nicaraguan officials who
have played a role in supporting President Daniel Ortega's regime. Previously, the US had revoked visas of prominent Nicaraguan officials, as well as judges involved in convicting opposition leaders, and legislators who collaborated in the ban of NGOs and civic groups.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed through his social media platforms that his department "has taken steps to impose visa restrictions on 100 Nicaraguan officials who restrict Nicaraguans’ human rights and undermine democracy." Blinken also urged the regime to release Bishop Álvarez and all other individuals detained without justification. Bishop Rolando Álvarez, a vocal critic of the Nicaraguan government, was imprisoned by the Ortega regime on alleged charges of aiding anti-government protesters. In February, he refused to board a plane intended for US-bound exiles and was subsequently sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Ortega's actions have included imprisoning numerous opposition figures to secure a fourth consecutive term in the 2021 elections, which were widely criticized as fraudulent. He has also prohibited several nongovernmental organizations and subjected many opponents to hasty trials on vague charges bordering on treason. The recent confiscation of a prominent Jesuit-run university, deemed a "center of terrorism" by the Nicaraguan government, marked another instance of authorities' crackdown on the Catholic Church and opposition figures.
Furthermore, the Treasury Department has frozen the US assets of the defense minister and other officials from sectors including the army, telecommunications, and mining. Similar to the existing sanctions imposed on many Nicaraguan officials, US citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. With Ortega's firm control over all government institutions and the opposition either in exile, imprisoned, or in hiding, prospects for a return to a democratic trajectory in the country have considerably diminished. Photo by Cancillería Ecuador, Wikimedia commons.