US Targets Nicaraguan Officials for Revoking Critics' Citizenship

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three Nicaraguan judicial officials it said were involved in revoking the citizenship of more than 300 people who oppose President Daniel Ortega's government.

Nicaragua in February expelled more than 200 political prisoners to the United States and later stripped them of their citizenship, before revoking the citizenship of another 94 Nicaraguans, some living abroad but some still residing in the country at the time.

The Treasury targeted two magistrates and a judge at courts in Managua that affirmed those, it said in a statement.

“The Ortega regime continues to engage in anti-democratic actions that target the most vocal opposition figures in Nicaragua, including through its judicial system,” Brian Nelson, the Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement.