Washington (CNN) The US government announced new sanctions Thursday against three Nicaraguan individuals in connection with ongoing violence and corruption.

"Today's actions are in connection with the horrific activities that we're seeing in Nicaragua," a senior administration official told reporters on a conference call. "The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing crisis in Nicaragua and the violence perpetrated by security forces against demonstrators."

"The Nicaraguan government's violent response has included beatings of journalists, attacks against local TV and radio stations, and assaults on mothers mourning the deaths of their children," the official said.

Nicaraguan protesters have been on the streets since April, expressing outrage over the government's social security overhaul proposals and President Daniel Ortega's increasingly authoritarian rule. There, they've encountered retaliation from security forces and paramilitary groups loyal to the Ortega government.

Those sanctioned Thursday include Francisco Javier Diaz Madriz, a commissioner with Nicaragua's National Police, which the US government accuses of carrying out extrajudicial killings.

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