OFAC has added the following persons:
GUIDO DE ROMERO, Ana Julia, Iglesia, Nicaragua; DOB 16 Feb 1959; POB Matagalpa, Nicaragua; nationality Nicaragua; Gender Female; Passport A00000211 (Nicaragua) issued 14 Aug 2012 expires 14 Aug 2022 (individual) [NICARAGUA].
OQUIST KELLEY, Paul Herbert, Managua, Nicaragua; DOB 19 Oct 1943; POB Oak Park, Illinois, United States; nationality Nicaragua; Gender Male; Passport A00001478 (Nicaragua) issued 27 Jul 2018 expires 27 Jul 2028 (individual) [NICARAGUA].
and entity:
COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO CAJA RURAL NACIONAL RL (a.k.a. CARUNA RL), Calle 14 de Septiembre, Puente, el Eden 5 cuadras al Oeste, Managua, Nicaragua; Nicaragua; Costado Oeste del Registro de la Propiedad, Contiguo a la Farmacia del INSS, Colonia Centroamerica, Managua, Nicaragua; Website http://www.caruna.com.ni; D-U-N-S Number 85-244-5670; Organization Established Date 13 Oct 1993; Organization Type: Other financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding activities, n.e.c.; all locations in Nicaragua [NICARAGUA] (Linked To: BANCO CORPORATIVO SA).
to its Nicaragua-related sanctions program.
And the State Department issued the following press release:
The United States Sanctions a Member of the Nicaraguan Judiciary, Another Member of Ortega’s Inner Circle, and Another Entity
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Today, the U.S. Government imposed sanctions on Ana Julia Guido Ochoa (Guido), Paul Oquist Kelley (Oquist), and Caja Rural Nacional (Caruna), pursuant to Executive Order 13851 (“Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Nicaragua”). These individuals and this entity enable and benefit from the corrupt and repressive activities of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua.
Today’s designation of Guido and Oquist promotes accountability for the Ortega regime and those who are attempting to further its atrocious activities. The designation of the cooperative Caruna closes off another tool of the regime.
Guido is the Attorney General of the Prosecutor’s Office, and she helped form a group of prosecutors who worked with the U.S.-sanctioned Nicaraguan National Police to fabricate cases against political prisoners. Additionally, Guido created a specialized unit that has spent the past two years bringing charges against peaceful protesters. Oquist is the Secretary of the Presidency for President Daniel Ortega and plays a lead role in covering up and justifying the regime’s crimes and human rights abuses.
Caruna is a savings and loan cooperative operating as the Ortega regime’s main tool for funneling proceeds from Nicaragua’s concessionary oil schemes with Venezuela to use as a resource to pay off the Ortega patronage network. Regime officials, including those sanctioned by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, are taking advantage of Caruna’s lack of regulatory oversight to shelter their ill-gotten gains.
The United States will continue to take the necessary steps to support the Nicaraguan people and pressure the Ortega regime to cease repression, respect human rights, and allow the conditions for free and fair elections that would restore democracy to Nicaragua.
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