The president of the United States, Joe Biden , on Tuesday prohibited the entry into the country of several Nicaraguan officials, including his counterpart, Daniel Ortega, and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, for their “repressive” actions against other political actors and civil society during the previous elections on November 7, without wide international recognition.
The decision, Biden assured, is motivated by “the importance” for the United States “of promoting democratic processes in Nicaragua” and “helping the Nicaraguan people achieve their democratic aspirations.”
“Given the suppression of Human Rights and democracy in Nicaragua, I have determined that it is in the interest of the United States to restrict and suspend the entry of the president, Daniel Ortega , and his wife and vice president Rosario Murillo,” says Biden in a statement from the White House.
“The authoritarian and undemocratic actions of the Ortega government have paralyzed the electoral process and stripped Nicaraguan citizens of the right to elect their leaders in free and fair elections,” explained the President of the United States.
Biden has listed the alleged violations and outrages that the Ortega government would have committed against leaders of the opposition and civil society, as well as representatives of student organizations , who, among other things, he points out, have not been guaranteed their right to a fair trial.
“The Ortega government controls multiple security services, including non-uniformed, armed and masked vigilantes, who abuse people to promote their authoritarian agenda,” Biden said.
In addition to Ortega and Murillo, the prohibition to enter the United States also falls on various government officials, including mayors, deputy mayors, or political secretaries; security agents, military, senior members of the judiciary, administrative and ministerial staff, and even teaching staff, as well as the families of all these people.
“Municipal officials, acting under direct orders from the Ortega government, have directed violence against pro-democracy protesters. The climate of fear established and perpetuated by these municipal officials has diminished the possibility of free and fair elections, ”he points out.
“The judiciary has failed the Nicaraguan people. By filling the judiciary with government-controlled judges and prosecutors, the justice system has been abused to silence critics, ”continues Biden.
In turn, the tenant of the White House has also asked Congress to expand the national emergency with respect to Nicaragua in the face of “the unusual and threat” that an executive order in force since the past poses to the interests and foreign policy of the United States. November 27, 2018 in response to the ” repression and indiscriminate violence ” by the Ortega government over the protests in April of that year.
