Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/1/10/us-slaps-new-sanctions-on-nicaragua-on-ortegas-inauguration-day
On Monday, January 10th, 2022, the United States imposed new sanctions on Nicaraguan officials, including re-elected President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo. The US Department of the Treasury released a statement, which discussed their newly imposed sanctions on 6 Nicaraguan officials over violent accusations, misinformation, and the targeting of independent media. In a statement given by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Blinken said, “New sanctions and visa restrictions target those complicit in the Ortega-Murillo regime’s repression, including politically motivated arrests and efforts to stifle independent media. We stand with the Nicaraguan people.”. These actions come after the November 7th, 2021 election which made international news and condemnation. Also, the EU issued travel bans and froze the Ortega family and the Murillo family’s assets.
In my opinion, this article is important because it discusses sanctions given by the US towards Nicaraguan officials. Considering this election was considered to be “neither free nor fair” by citizens, I think these sanctions are important. I also think the travel bans are important because they need to keep these officials in the country in order to investigate them. This article was important for me to read because I didn’t realize how corrupt the Nicaraguan government is. An example of corruption is the detainment of opponents and challengers to Ortega. What this means for the country is that many protests will continue to happen, which could be either a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it.l
This relates to class because it discusses the relations between the United States and Nicaragua. Another thing that relates to the class is the idea of sanctions, which is something I remember learning about while discussing the news. The article also mentions the European Union, which is something we’ve discussed a lot in class. All in all, this was a really informative article that taught me more about the Nicaraguan country and it’s corrupt politicians.