Joe Biden on Tuesday (November 16) banned Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, his wife and vice-president Rosario Murillo, as well as a wide range of ministers and officials of the country from entry into the United States, in a proclamation in the form of a harsh indictment against their “
attacks
” on democracy.
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"
The repression and abuses of the Ortega government and those who support it require the United States to act
", affirms the American president in this text published after the disputed election of November 7 which renewed Daniel Ortega at the head of his country.
"
I have made the decision that it is in the interests of the United States to restrict and suspend the entry into the United States
" of "
members of the government of Nicaragua, led by President Daniel Ortega, including his wife and vice-president Rosario Murillo
”, and all those linked to acts“
undermining the democratic institutions
”of the country, he adds.
"In response to the sham elections"
The very long list of persona non grata also includes elected officials and members of their cabinets, mayors and their deputies accused of having "
violated human rights to punish peaceful demonstrators
" as well as a whole series of senior officials of the services of security, government agencies, prison services, the judiciary and the Ministry of the Interior. Apart from the state apparatus, all those who contributed to the acts denounced by Washington are also concerned. Finally, the wives and children of those sanctioned are also prohibited from entering the United States.
The US Treasury had already announced on Monday financial sanctions against the Federal Prosecutor's Office of Nicaragua and nine senior officials of the country "
in response to the sham elections orchestrated by President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo
".
The threat loomed since the November 7 election, deprived of opposition following the imprisonment of the president's main rivals.
President Biden immediately called
the elections a
"
comedy
" which unsurprisingly led to the re-election of Daniel Ortega for a fourth term.