The State Department issued a statement urging countries to cease any business engagements with Nicaragua as the country moved to ban elections.
“Dictatorships that deny the unalienable rights of their citizens should not enjoy the same economic or political benefits as governments committed to defending hemispheric peace and security,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press statement. “The United States urges international partners to immediately stop business as usual operations with this brutal dictatorship.”
“Murillo and Ortega’s war on democracy threatens our hemisphere’s stability and prosperity,” the statement continued. “The Trump Administration remains committed to identifying and implementing actions to address the Murillo-Ortega’s violations of human rights, including at forums like the Organization of American States. We stand in support of Nicaraguans’ right to decide their country’s future.”
The statement comes as Nicaragua passed a constitutional reform that blocks opposition parties from engaging in elections. It also extends presidential terms from six to seven years.
In July, Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega announced that the country would no longer hold elections. “There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power,” he said. “The days when parties backed by the Yankees (United States) and the Somocistas would return to power are over – never again.”
Following Ortega’s comments, the State Department said Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have “abandoned even the pretense of popular consent.”
“The Nicaraguan people have the right to choose their own leaders through democratic elections,” the Department added. “The United States calls on the international community to join forces to demonstrate to the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship that it cannot expect to maintain business as usual with other nations when it is thwarting the basic tenets of our democratic hemisphere.”
