Overview

• The United States announced new visa restrictions on over 250 Nicaraguan government officials, bringing the total to more than 2,000 individuals targeted since 2018.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the move is in response to the Ortega-Murillo regime's ongoing human rights violations and repression of fundamental freedoms.
• The Ortega government has been widely condemned for its 2018 crackdown on anti-government protests, which resulted in over 350 deaths.
• UN experts describe Nicaragua as operating under a 'tightly coordinated system of repression,' with all branches of government centralized under Ortega and Murillo.
• The Nicaraguan government has dismissed allegations of abuses, framing them as part of an international campaign against the regime.