In the speech, Bolton criticized Ortega for his “regime’s violence and repression against its citizens and opposition members.” The Nicaraguan government, he said, “like Venezuela and Cuba, will feel the full weight of America’s robust sanctions regime.”

In a conference call with reporters, Trump administration officials cast the sanctions on Murillo and Lau as the first step in fulfilling that pledge. "OFAC imposed sanctions on two of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s closest associates: the Vice President of Nicaragua and First Lady, Rosario Maria Murillo De Ortega (Murillo), and Nestor Moncada Lau (Moncada), who has acted as a national security advisor to the President and Vice President," the release said. The text of the order, which was issued Tuesday, states that the action was taken in response to the Nicaraguan government’s corruption, its “violent response” to protests and its “systematic dismantling and undermining of democratic institutions and the rule of law.”

“Vice President Murillo and her political operators have systematically sought to dismantle democratic institutions and loot the wealth of Nicaragua to consolidate their grip on power,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “This administration is committed to holding the Ortega regime accountable for the violent protests and widespread corruption that have led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent Nicaraguans and destroyed their economy.”

The Treasury actions freeze any property or assets under U.S. jurisdiction of the two Nicaraguan officials. Until then, the official said, the administration’s goal is to continue “a campaign of maximum pressure.”

Mr. Ortega, 72, is a former left-wing guerrilla who has ruled Nicaragua for 22 of the past 39 years since his Sandinista rebels toppled a U.S.-backed strongman.
The Donald Trump administration announces sanctions on Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo and national security advisor Néstor Moncada Lau for corruption, violence against protesters, and human rights violations.