Sec. 3. Findings
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Congress makes the following findings: The 2022 Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom made the following recommendations to the United States Government: Maintain Nicaragua on the special watch list of the Department of State under section 402(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ( 22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)(iii) ) for engaging in or tolerating serious violations of religious freedom. Impose targeted sanctions with respect to agencies and officials of the Government of Nicaragua responsible for violence and other punitive actions against places of worship, religious leaders, and organizations by freezing the assets of and barring the entry of certain persons into the United States, citing specific violations of religious freedom.
Collaborate with and encourage multilateral organizations, such as the Organization of American States— to monitor and investigate violations of religious freedom that occur in Nicaragua; to work to identify perpetrators of religious freedom violations in Nicaragua; and to seek the repeal of problematic laws such as the foreign agents law passed in Nicaragua in 2020. The Catholic Church in Nicaragua suffered— 127 attacks in 2022; 54 attacks in 2021; 58 attacks in 2020; 76 attacks in 2019; and 81 attacks in 2018.
In a 2022 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Nicaragua was listed as an authoritarian regime and one of the least democratic countries in the Western Hemisphere, along with Cuba and Venezuela. According to the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices published by the Department of State, members of civil society and student leaders involved in the April 2018 protests in Nicaragua were subjected to torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. According to human rights organizations, the Ortega regime has 150 political prisoners, including prisoners in solitary confinement.
In 2022, the Ortega regime rejected a United States envoy, declared the head of the European Union persona non grata, and closed the Vatican embassy in Managua. On February 9, 2023, the authoritarian Ortega regime— expelled 222 Nicaraguan nationals who had been unjustly imprisoned for exercising their fundamental rights; and stripped those nationals of Nicaraguan citizenship. The invasion of Ukraine by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin poses a significant threat to global peace and stability in the Western Hemisphere.
The authoritarian regime of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua is providing diplomatic support to the Russian Federation and serving as an amplifier and repeater of Russian propaganda on a global scale. The actions of the Government of Nicaragua are impeding development of a global consensus to reject and respond to crimes against humanity conducted by President Putin. The Ortega regime has deepened the relationship between the Government of Nicaragua and the Government of the Russian Federation and is establishing diplomatic relations with the Government of the People Republic of China.
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