Ortega Inaugurated in Nicaragua... US and EU Impose Blacklist Sanctions on Regime Officials

Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua (right in the photo), and his wife and Vice President, Rosario Murillo. (Photo by AFP)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] In line with the inauguration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, the United States and the European Union (EU) have unleashed strong sanctions by placing officials of the Nicaraguan dictatorship regime on a blacklist. This is an effort to increase pressure on the Nicaraguan regime, which is suspected of close ties with Russia and China.

According to major foreign media on the 10th (local time), President Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, his wife, held the inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in the capital Managua and began their new term. Delegations from allied countries including Cuban President Miguel D?az-Canel, Venezuela, China, Iran, North Korea, and Mexico attended the ceremony.

Earlier, in the November presidential election last year, President Ortega detained a leading presidential candidate and manipulated the election results to secure his fifth term and fourth consecutive term. This extended the Ortega couple’s rule as president and vice president, with Rosario Murillo as the vice-presidential candidate, for another five years.

Ortega, who ousted the pro-American Anastasio Somoza dictatorship in 1979 and was first elected president in 1984, failed to be re-elected once in 1990 but has been in long-term power since 2007.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on the same day that it would add six Nicaraguan regime officials, including the defense minister and two generals, to the sanctions list ahead of the "sham inauguration" of Ortega and Murillo.

Additionally, the U.S. State Department announced travel restrictions on 116 individuals, including Nicaraguan mayors and prosecutors, accusing them of "colluding to undermine democracy."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, "The United States will continue to mobilize diplomatic and economic means in cooperation with democratic countries in the international community to condemn the ongoing repression by the Ortega-Murillo regime and to restore democracy and respect for human rights in Nicaragua."

The European Union (EU) also issued a statement on the same day, adding seven officials of the Ortega regime, including the president and vice president’s son and daughter who serve as presidential advisors, to the sanctions list. The EU strongly condemned them, holding them responsible for "serious human rights violations, supporting fraudulent elections, and weakening democracy and the rule of law."

Previously, Western countries including the United States, the EU, and Spain criticized Ortega’s re-election as nothing more than a mockery that does not reflect the will of the people.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.