The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on three Nicaragua-based entities: the Training Center of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Managua (RTC); Compania Minera Internacional, Sociedad Anónima (COMINTSA); and Capital Mining Investment Nicaragua, Sociedad Anónima (Capital Mining). These actions are taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13851, as amended.
The RTC is a subdivision of the Government of the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. It provides training to those under the Ortega-Murillo regime’s command, using tactics from the Russian authoritarian government’s playbook. The RTC plays a significant role in the Nicaraguan regime’s repression of civil society and unjust detention and imprisonment of individuals for expressing dissent or otherwise peacefully exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The designations of COMINTSA and Capital Mining target government-affiliated gold companies generating revenue for the Ortega-Murillo regime. Gold is Nicaragua’s top commodity export, and this action aims to degrade the ability of the Ortega-Murillo regime to manipulate the sector and profit from corrupt operations.
“By leveraging the training it receives from Russia-backed RTC and revenue generated from exploiting the gold sector, the Ortega-Murillo regime continues its anti-democratic campaign against its citizens,” said Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson. “The United States remains committed to using our tools to support Nicaraguan people by constraining Ortega-Murillo regime’s ability to fund oppressive activities.”
These sanctions come in response to continued repression by Ortega-Murillo regime against Nicaraguan people and exploitation of vulnerable migrants. This includes profiting off irregular migration to the United States.
In addition to these sanctions, over 250 visa restrictions have been issued for Nicaraguan officials by The United States Department of State. The Departments of State, Treasury, and Homeland Security are jointly releasing an advisory to alert the travel industry about smugglers facilitating illegal migration to the United States. They also aim to remind the industry of steps they should take to avoid complicity in migrant exploitation.
As a result of these actions, all property and interests in property of the designated persons that are in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Any entities owned directly or indirectly by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions involving any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.
