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U.S. prepares sanctions, pressure on Nicaragua after election -officials

06 November 2021 05:55 (UTC +04:00)

The Biden administration is prepared to impose further sanctions and ratchet up diplomatic pressure on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's government following elections set for this Sunday, senior U.S. officials said, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Escalating U.S. criticism of Ortega as he is firmly favored to win a fourth consecutive term, a senior State Department official said on Friday that Washington sees the vote as ushering in a "dictatorship" in the Central American nation.

Since the last election in 2016, Ortega has abolished presidential term limits, expanded his family's business empire and piled pressure on independent media. In recent months, he has jailed opposition contenders, activists, journalists and business leaders. Other critics have gone into exile.

The United States will maintain its diplomatic presence in Nicaragua despite regarding the election as the end of Ortega's democratic mandate, the official told reporters.