Washington (AFP) – The United States hit Nicaragua’s national police chief and two other prominent officials with sanctions Thursday, citing their role in deadly human rights abuses and corruption.
The US Treasury placed National Police Commissioner Francisco Javier Diaz Madriz and Fidel Antonio Moreno Briones, secretary of the Managua mayor’s office, on its financial blacklist, citing their roles in killings and beatings of anti-government protesters.
Also sanctioned was Jose Francisco Lopez Centeno, an oil executive the US Treasury said allegedly siphoned off millions of dollars from two companies for his own benefit and that of Nicaragua’s leaders.