The US imposed penalties on Thursday on Wendy Carolina Morales Urbina, the Attorney General of Nicaragua. The US alleged that Morales Urbina aided in the harsh treatment of peaceful opposition members in the country.
The Treasury Department labeled Morales Urbina as a significant figure in the unfair persecution of political prisoners by the Nicaraguan regime, as per a press release announcing the sanctions. The release mentions that Morales Urbina supported the policies of President Daniel Ortega, who has been under US sanctions for many years and has been the country’s president since 2007, having formerly led the Sandinista movement.
The sanctions prohibit any US company, including financial institutions, from engaging with Morales Urbina and freezing her US-based assets.
The sanctions specifically focus on Morales Urbina’s actions following the 2018 mass civil protests, per the Treasury's statement. The statement alleges that Morales Urbina assisted Ortega in suppressing protests, imprisoning political opponents, and silencing critical voices in the media or forcing them into exile.
“Morales Urbina played a key role in developing the strategy to label Nicaraguan opposition members as terrorists and to block their financial resources using an existing anti-terrorism law,” Treasury said in a statement.
The Treasury Department also stated that Morales Urbina unlawfully nationalized property owned by dissidents and dispossessed over 200 political prisoners.
The State Department issued a similar statement clarifying the Treasury’s sanction.
“As Attorney General, Morales Urbina silenced opposition voices and confiscated the property of over 300 Nicaraguans,” the State Department said. “She supported Ortega’s decision to strip exiled political prisoners of their citizenship. She is responsible for the arbitrary closure of over 3,500 civil society organizations, including over 250 evangelical groups.”
“Morales Urbina was involved in the Ortega-Murillo regime’s unfounded attacks on religious institutions, which included false charges and unjust detentions of religious leaders,” the department continued. “We affirm our commitment to promote accountability for the malign conduct of the Nicaraguan regime and its collaborators.”
