US sanctions Nicaraguan gold mining firm over ties to Russia

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Nicaragua’s state-owned gold mining company and the president of its board of directors partly over the Central American nation’s ties to Russia. The Treasury Department says Friday’s sanctions were imposed, in part, because Nicaragua’s leaders are “deepening their relationship with Russia” as it wages war against Ukraine and are “using gold revenue to continue to oppress” Nicaragua’s people. The actions are authorized under a Trump administration executive order targeting the violent response by the Nicaraguan government to civil protests that began in 2018. The sanctions mean all property that the company ENIMINAS has that the U.S. has jurisdiction over is blocked.