OFAC sanctions sons of Nicaraguan presidential couple and companies that trade gold

The United States announced sanctions on Thursday against two sons of the Nicaraguan presidential couple with positions in the regime, as well as against five officials and seven companies linked to the business of gold extraction and commercialization.

Maurice Ortega Murillo is Nicaragua's Presidential Delegate for Sports, and Daniel Edmundo Ortega Murillo controls government communication, heading the Communication and Citizenship Council.

Both have been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Treasury Department reported.

"The Trump Administration is sanctioning two of Ortega and Murillo’s sons, five other individuals, and seven companies that have enabled the dictatorship’s corrupt control of Nicaragua's gold sector and its seizure of property owned by U.S. citizens," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott wrote.