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Blinken Rejects ‘Undemocratic Elections’ in Nicaragua, and Promises More Sanctions

Blinken acusa a Rusia y China de "minar la voluntad democrática" en Europa Central

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Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, denounced on Monday the “undemocratic” elections held in Nicaragua on Sunday, and reiterated that Washington will continue issuing sanctions against Daniel Ortega´s dictatorship.

In a statement, the head of diplomacy criticized that the “electoral repression and manipulation” by the Nicaraguan Executive took away any “real meaning” from the November 7 vote.

“The United States joins other democracies in the region and all over the world in condemning this subversion of democratic norms,” ​​Blinken said.

For this reason, he added, the United States will continue “to use diplomacy, coordinated actions with regional allies and partners, sanctions and visa restrictions” to promote the “accountability for those complicit in supporting” the Ortega regime.

Most countries do not recognize the results of the presidential elections held on Sunday in Nicaragua, in which Ortega, with his rivals imprisoned or exiled, obtained 75% of the votes.

With seven opposition presidential contenders in prison, under accusations of “treason,” Ortega, in power since 2007, designated himself reelected for a new five-year term, along with his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.

Already on Sunday, President Joe Biden described the elections in Nicaragua as a “pantomime election that was neither free nor fair, and most certainly not democratic.”

Biden is expected to sign in the next few hours the RENACER Act (Reinforcing Nicaragua’s Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform Act) that expands supervision of loans granted to Nicaragua by international financial institutions.

Additionally, it calls for imposing selective sanctions on Nicaraguan officials and that these be coordinated with the Government of Canada and the European Union (EU), as well as for reviewing the continued participation of Nicaragua in the Free Trade Agreement with Central America ( CAFTA).

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