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3/21/2024

Treasury Sanctions Nicaragua’s Attorney General | U.S. Department of the Treasury

Treasury Sanctions Nicaragua’s Attorney General
March 21, 2024

WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasuryʼs O ice of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC) sanctioned Wendy Carolina Morales Urbina, Nicaraguaʼs Attorney General,for being
complicit in the Ortega-Murillo regimeʼs oppression. Todayʼs action, taken pursuant to
Executive Order (E.O.) 13851, as amended, targets a key actor in the Nicaraguan regimeʼs
unjust persecution of political prisoners and civil society within the country.
“The Attorney General of Nicaragua, in concert with the Ortega-Murillo regime, has exploited
her o ice to facilitate a coordinated campaign to suppress dissent by seizing property from
government political opponents without a legal basis,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury
for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson. “The United States reiterates its
enduring support for the Nicaraguan people, who continue to bravely reject the
authoritarianism of President Ortega and his inner circle.”
In 2018, anti-government protests erupted in Nicaragua, prompting ongoing violent
repression by the Ortega-Murillo regime. President Ortega and the Vice President, Rosario
Murillo, Ortegaʼs wife, have consolidated power, suppressed popular protests, incarcerated
political opponents, and silenced critical voices in the media or forced them into exile.
President Ortega governs with a tight-knit group of trusted figures in the police, the military,
and parliament. On February 9, 2023, President Ortega expelled 222 political prisoners and put
them on a flight to Washington, D.C. According to the Nicaraguan government, the
deportation of the prisoners was intended to protect peace and national security and those
freed have been declared traitors who can never serve in Nicaraguan public o ice. As a result,
Nicaragua stripped the 222 former political prisoners of their Nicaraguan citizenship.

W ENDY CAROLINA MORALES URB INA
Wendy Carolina Morales Urbina (Morales Urbina) is a Nicaraguan national who was
appointed to the role of Attorney General of the Republic of Nicaragua on May 10, 2019, by
President Ortega. In her capacity as Attorney General, Morales Urbina is responsible for
enabling the Ortega-Murillo regime to steal real property formerly belonging to independent
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Treasury Sanctions Nicaragua’s Attorney General | U.S. Department of the Treasury

media outlets, international organizations, and political prisoners. In her role as Attorney
General, Morales Urbina proves to be loyal to the Ortega-Murillo regime. She holds great
power under their protection to determine who receives properties.
In several instances Morales Urbina appeared in her o icial capacity in various private
buildings, presented deeds to new owners and declared the properties were now being made
for public use. Morales Urbina has also seized property from thousands of non-governmental
organizations under law explicitly to suppress freedom of association. Morales Urbina carried
out the dispossession of all properties of the 222 political prisoners who were banished from
Nicaragua. Morales Urbina was key to formulating the strategy to designate Nicaraguan
opposition members as terrorists and block their financial resources using an existing antiterrorism law.
Morales Urbina is designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13851, as amended, for being
an o icial of the Government of Nicaragua or for having served as an o icial of the
Government of Nicaragua at any time on or a er January 10, 2007; and for being responsible
for or complicit in, or for having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, any
transaction or series of transactions involving deceptive practices or corruption by, on behalf
of, or otherwise related to the Government of Nicaragua or a current or former o icial of the
Government of Nicaragua, such as the misappropriation of public assets or expropriation of
private assets for personal gain or political purposes, corruption related to government
contracts, or bribery.
Morales Urbina is one of the voices of the Ortega-Murillo regime at international forums
where debates on the crisis in Nicaragua and violations of human rights take place. Morales
Urbina frames her statements under the Nicaraguan governmentʼs rhetoric of being a victim
of human rights defense groups that allegedly want to destabilize Nicaragua. Morales Urbina
was appointed Attorney General in 2019 in violation of Nicaraguan law, as she had not
practiced law for the requisite 10 years prior to her appointment.

SANCT IONS IMPLICAT IONS
As a result of todayʼs action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons
described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons
are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly
or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked
persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or
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Treasury Sanctions Nicaragua’s Attorney General | U.S. Department of the Treasury

exempt, OFACʼs regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or
transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated
or otherwise blocked persons.
In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or
activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or
be subject to an enforcement action. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution
or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or
the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFACʼs ability to designate
and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the
SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring
about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking
removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFACʼs Frequently Asked
Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal
from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.
Click here for more information on the individual and entity designated today.
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