On October 9, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated a key financial operation and two government officials in Nicaragua pursuant to Executive Order 13851, which targets corrupt financial organizations and supporters of the regime of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega.
Nicaragua’s Attorney General was designated for being an official in the Nicaraguan government, and for working with the designated National Police to fabricate charges against detained peaceful protestors and other political prisoners. Nicaragua’s Secretary of the Presidency was also designated for being an official in the Nicaraguan government, and for spreading disinformation and false propaganda in the international media and in meetings with foreign representatives, in an attempt to cover up the regime’s transgressions. Finally, the Cooperative De Ahorro Y Credito Caja Rural Nacional RL was designated as a financial institution that supports the Banco Corporative, SA, an entity designated in 2019 pursuant to Executive Order 13851 for allowing President Daniel Ortega to siphon money from certain oil trusts and credit portfolios that he has used to pay his network of supporters and maintain power in Nicaragua.
As a result of these designations, all US property of the designated individuals and entities is blocked, and all transactions with the entity and individuals are generally prohibited. In addition, any entity in the US that is owned fifty percent or more by a sanctioned person or entity is also blocked.