The United States Department of State sanctioned over 100 Nicaraguan officials who “continue to carry out the dictatorship” of the country’s co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday, AzerNEWS reports.
“The Murillo-Ortega dictatorship is an enemy of humanity,” Rubio wrote on X, adding that “the [US President Donald] Trump Administration will not ignore their crimes and brutality, including the dictatorship’s singular role in the death of political opposition leader Brooklyn Rivera.”
Last month, 73-year-old Rivera, leader of the Nicaraguan indigenous movement Yatama, died in prison due to “physical and neurological deterioration” linked to a Covid-19 infection. Opposition media reported that it took authorities 15 hours to confirm the death, refusing to release Rivera’s remains to his family.