Sen. Cruz Issues Statement on the US Treasury Department Sanctioning Nicaraguan Officials

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a Senate Foreign Relations Committee member, released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioning of four Nicaraguan officials. Today's sanctions are against individuals involved in human rights abuses and ongoing repression of civil society under the Ortega regime:

'The Biden administration did the right thing sanctioning these figures, who have contributed to the Ortega regime's campaign to dismantle democratic institutions, pass sweeping laws to strip citizens of their rights, criminalize the opposition, and imprison presidential challengers. The breadth of officials sanctioned today is a testament to the systematic nature of these anti-democratic crackdowns, and the United States must remain committed to holding the regime accountable.'

The individuals sanctioned today are Camila Antonia Ortega Murillo, the Coordinator of the Creative Economy Commission and daughter of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega; Leonardo Ovidio Reyes Ramirez, President of the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN); Edwin Ramon Castro Rivera, a deputy of the Nicaraguan National Assembly (NNA); and Julio Modesto Rodriguez Balladares, a Brigadier General of the Nicaraguan Army and Executive Director of the Military Social Welfare Institute (IPSM).

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