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US Sanctions against Nicaragua

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On November 10, 2021, President Biden signed the Reinforcing Nicaragua’s Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform Act (“the RENACER Act”) into law, which calls for increased sanctions against Nicaragua. This followed November 7 elections in Nicaragua that allowed President Daniel Ortega to stay in power for a fourth consecutive term. President Biden had issued a statement referring to the November 7 elections as “a pantomime election that was neither free nor fair.” The RENACER Act…

On April 17, 2019, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) continued its escalation of sanctions against Venezuela and Nicaragua through the designation of additional parties as Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs”).  OFAC issued two Venezuelan general licenses (“GLs”), amended certain Venezuelan GLs, and issued one FAQ, as further described below.  A summary of OFAC’s measures is available here, and a related press release issued by the White House is available here.

On November 27, 2018, the President signed Executive Order 13851 targeting Nicaragua entitled “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Nicaragua” (“Nicaragua EO”) available here.  The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) also issued a press release related to the Nicaragua EO available here, and added two close associates of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”) pursuant to the new Nicaragua EO, the notice for which is available here.  The two new SDNs are the current Vice President of Nicaragua and President Ortega’s wife, Rosario Maria Murillo de Ortega, and President Ortega’s national security adviser, Nestor Moncada Lau.