Government of Ortega insists on cessation of sanctions; Civic Alliance rejects “misleading campaign” on the effect of sanctions

By Confidencial

HAVANA TIMES – Daniel Ortega’s wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo said Friday that US economic sanctions against the family of her husband, President Daniel Ortega, and his inner circle, are directed towards Nicaraguans, and that they are not deserved.

“The measures they have taken against the people of Nicaragua, not against individuals, are measures that the Nicaraguan people do not deserve,” said Murillo, in an address broadcast through the Government and family media.

In recent days, the US Treasury Department issued economic sanctions against the son of the President and Vice President of Nicaragua, Laureano Ortega Murillo, and the “Banco Corporativo” (BanCorp), a subsidiary of the mixed company Alba of Nicaragua S.A. (Albanisa), financed by the Venezuelan Government.

Vice President Murillo and her in-law, the Chief of Nicaraguan Police, Francisco Diaz, among others close to Ortega, had already been sanctioned in 2018.

The sanctions, which block all assets or interests in the United States of those affected and of US citizens that relate with them, have been applied to Nicaraguans that Washington considers involved in cases of corruption and human rights violations.

The opposition Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy affirmed that until now there are no general sanctions against the Nicaraguan economy and that, instead, they are directed at specific people.

Murillo disagrees, insisting that sanctions are “affecting the Nicaraguan economy,” as well as “the poorest sectors in particular, and that is neither Christian, nor fair.”

The Alliance said on Friday that stating that sanctions affect “the poorest” is “a misleading campaign” of the Government, since they only affect those specific persons mentioned.

Since last Wednesday, both Ortega and Foreign Minister Denis Moncada, as well as Murillo, have insisted on asking the Civic Alliance to intercede with the international community to suspend the sanctions.

The Alliance has responded that it will not do so as long as the Government does not demonstrate “concrete actions” to overcome the sociopolitical crisis that Nicaragua is experiencing, including the release of the hundreds of “political prisoners,” respecting the Constitution with regard to citizen freedoms, guaranteeing justice for the victims of the crisis and allow the return of democracy.

Murillo said she has “hope and trust in God, and we know that God and his justice will prevail.”

“We reject the misleading campaign (…) that seeks to make the sanctions appear harmful to the poorest and humblest, when in reality they affect the individual officials for their acts of corruption and human rights violations,” the Alliance highlighted in a statement.

The Government also demands that the Alliance request the international community to suspend the sanctions and other future ones.

The opposition group maintains that it will do so once the Government complies with the commitments signed at the negotiating table, such as freeing “political prisoners” and respecting the Constitution, and committing to justice being sought for the victims of the crisis and the return to democracy, as the parties had agreed.