“We commend the bravery and compassion of those who put the welfare of others before their own…. The United States is dedicated to addressing humanitarian crises and resolving conflicts through coordinated international responses and diplomacy, and we encourage other nations to contribute to meeting global humanitarian needs,” the NATO-cheering, sanctions-mad State Department piously declared on Aug. 19, in celebration of World Humanitarian Day.
The same day, Secretary of State Blinken announced yet more sanctions on Nicaragua. This time, they were not economic, but “only” the imposition of visa restrictions on 100 more Nicaraguans, all municipal officials charged with “participat[ing] in efforts to repress civil society organizations.” Blinken added that the U.S. will continue to both sanction “those who threaten democracy in Nicaragua,” and get other countries to do the same.
The U.S. has sanctioned Nicaragua and Nicaraguans for different intervals since 1985. The current round began in 2018 under the Trump administration, with the Biden administration then piling more on. An Executive Order issued in October 2022 hit Nicaraguan mining interests and restricted U.S. investment in Nicaragua, and abrogated to the administration the authority to identify additional sectors to be subject to sanctions and impose restrictions on other trade with Nicaragua, including restrictions on both imports into the United States from Nicaragua and exports from the United States to Nicaragua.
