Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega (right) and Vice President Rosario Murillo wave during a rally in Managua, Nicaragua, in July 2018
Keystone / Bienvenido Velasco Blanco
Switzerland has imposed sanctions on eight more top Nicaraguan officials, including vice-president Rosario Maria Murillo Zambrana – in line with a decision by the European Union.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/SECO/Reuters/ilj
Español
es
Nicaragua: Suiza amplía lista de funcionarios sancionados
The move comes at a time of international isolation of President Daniel Ortega’s government, which has been criticised for crackdowns against his opponents and critical media in the Central American country he has dominated since returning to power 15 years ago.
In all, eight people have been added Switzerland’s sanctions list, just as the EU did on July 30, 2021. This includes Murillo, who is also President Ortega’s wife, and their son Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) indicated on Friday.
Switzerland already followed the EU in imposing sanctions on six individuals in the central American country in June 2020, all of them with ties to President Ortega.
Swiss and EU concerns
“The reason behind that decision was that Switzerland shared the EU’s concerns about ongoing violations of human rights democracy and the rule of law in Nicaragua,” a SECO spokeswoman told SWI swissinfo.ch via email.
“These reasons still apply today. This is why Switzerland is aligning itself also with the most recent modification of the EU sanctions list.”
Murillo, also leader of the Sandinista Youth, was instrumental in encouraging and justifying a police crackdown on the opposition in 2018, SECO said in a documentExternal link on the sanctions. She also threatened the opposition and discredited independent journalists in July of this year.
As for Ortega Murillo, he runs Canal 8, one of the country’s main television stations, and is the leader of the 4th of May Sandinista movement. His position has contributed to the restriction of freedom of expression and of the press, according to SECO.
The other people targeted are high up in the country’s political, judicial or police sectors.
“The adopted measures target specifically designated individuals and are not directed against the people of Nicaragua as a whole. Therefore, they have no impact on the civilian population in Nicaragua,” stressed the SECO spokeswoman.
More
More
Switzerland slaps sanctions on top Nicaragua officials
This content was published on
Switzerland is imposing sanctions on Nicaragua in response to ongoing violations against human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
Should raw milk sales be banned or should consumers decide?
Swiss food regulations do not allow raw milk to be sold for direct consumption. However, a loophole allows 400 raw milk vending machines to do just that.
Swiss national among five survivors rescued after tourist yacht sank in Egypt’s Red Sea
This content was published on
Egyptian naval forces rescued five people on Tuesday, including a Swiss citizen, and recovered four bodies, a day after a tourist yacht carrying 44 passengers sank in the Red Sea.
Swiss authorities complete 75% of foreign criminal expulsion orders
This content was published on
Swiss courts ordered the expulsion of 2,250 foreign offenders in 2023. By mid-2024, around 73% of them had left Switzerland, either voluntarily or under police escort.
Initiative launched for tougher environmental rules for Swiss financial industry
This content was published on
An alliance of political parties and business and environmental groups has launched a people's initiative calling for stricter environmental rules for the Swiss finance sector.
Explosion at Geneva apartment building leaves young girl seriously injured
This content was published on
A young girl was seriously injured on November 25 after an explosion in an apartment building in the Grange-Canal district of Geneva, the Office of the Attorney General of Geneva has confirmed.
Thawing permafrost threatens dozens of mountain huts in Switzerland
This content was published on
Over one-third of Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) mountain huts could be unstable in the future due to thawing permafrost, according to a study.
Swiss study finds language distorts ChatGPT information on armed conflicts
This content was published on
Millions of people engage with and seek information from ChatGPT and other large language models. But how are the responses given by these models shaped by the language in which they are asked?
This content was published on
The Swiss public has named the robin as Bird of the Year 2025. With its familiar red breast and distinctive song, the robin is one of the most common bird species in Switzerland, found in gardens and forests.
Authorities underestimated severe weather risks in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
Violent storms hit the Misox valley in southern Switzerland in June, causing severe damage and two fatalities. New analysis, presented on Monday, shows that authorities underestimated some of the dangers.
Switzerland and Italy announce closer police and migration cooperation
This content was published on
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and his Swiss counterpart, Beat Jans, met in the border town of Chiasso in southern Switzerland on Monday.
This content was published on
Geneva police carried out a major operation in the east of the city on Monday, following reports that a parcel bomb had exploded in an apartment building and injured one person.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
The Swiss who fought for change in Nicaragua
This content was published on
“I was fascinated by the idea of living in a country where everything was possible,” recalls Roland Sidler, one such volunteer from Switzerland. “Participative democracy was very well established. The government, the people, the intellectuals, the ideologists, the clergy… all worked together to educate the population, give them shelter and sanitation and to launch agricultural…
This content was published on
The Swiss government has announced further economic sanctions against Belarus, including trade bans as well as restrictions in the financial sector.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.