Human Rights Watch called Wednesday on governments in the Americas and Europe to impose sanctions on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and at least five high-level security officials for a crackdown on protests that began in April 2018.
The human rights organization said sanctions should involve travel bans and asset freezes and are necessary because many protesters were subject to abuse that in some cases amounted to torture.
"Daniel Ortega has shown no real commitment to justice for the victims of the brutal crackdown by National Police and armed thugs during the 2018 protests," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at HRW.
Protests against social security reforms began last year and grew in scope to demand Ortega's exit from office and early elections. The demonstrations were put down forcibly by security forces and armed pro-government militias, with at least 325 people killed in the crackdown, more than 2,000 wounded and over 52,000 who fled the country, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has said that not a single investigation has been opened into security forces implicated in abuses and just one sentence has been handed down against a member of a pro-government group.
The Nicaraguan embassy in Washington, D.C. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, HRW released a 98-page report based on official documents, photographs, medical reports and interviews with 75 people, including victims and their relatives.
It called for sanctions on Ortega, as well as three leaders of the National Police, the chief of El Chipote prison where victims were held and the chief of the country's department of special operations.
The U.S. administration has imposed sanctions on at least six Nicaraguan officials, including Rosario Murillo, who is the vice president and wife of Ortega, their son Laureano Ortega and current National Police Chief Francisco Díaz.
But other countries have taken less harsh measures.
Canada has cut nearly $20 million in direct aid to Ortega's government, and the European Parliament in March approved a strongly worded resolution criticizing Nicaragua on human rights issues and calling for sanctions.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia has moved some troops onto an airbase in Niger where a small number of U.S. forces remain, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he doesn't see it as a significant issue. Most American troops left that base in the nation's capital, Niamey, a U.S. official said.
The arrival of Russian trainers in the West African country about three weeks ago came in the wake of Niger’s decision to order out all U.S. troops. The order dealt a blow to U.S. military operations in the Sahel, a vast region south of the Sahara desert where groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate.
The Pentagon has said the U.S. troops will depart but has not provided a timeline.
When Russian troops arrived last month, it was unclear where they were staying. The Niamey base, Austin said late Thursday, is located at the capital city's Diori Hamani International Airport, and “the Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to U.S. forces or access to our equipment.”
He said the U.S. will continue to watch the situation but he doesn't see it as a significant force protection issue.
A U.S. official said the Russian forces are on the other side of the Niamey facility, known as Airbase 101, and that other international forces — such as the Germans and Italians — also reside. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements. It's unclear how many U.S. troops remain at the Niamey base.
The Russian presence on the base comes as tensions remain high between Washington and Moscow over the ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine's military.
About 1,000 U.S. troops are still in Niger, but the bulk of them moved to what's called Airbase 201 near Agadez, some 920 kilometers (550 miles) away from the capital, not long after mutinous soldiers ousted the country’s democratically elected president last July.
A few months later, the ruling junta asked French forces to leave and turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for security assistance.
In October, Washington officially designated the military takeover as a coup, which triggered U.S. laws restricting the military support and aid that it can provide to Niger. Since then, diplomatic efforts to restore ties with Niger have been unsuccessful.
Until recently, Washington considered Niger a key partner and ally in a region swept by coups in recent years, investing millions of dollars in the Agadez base, which has been critical to U.S. counterterrorism operations in the Sahel. The U.S. also has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger’s military since it began operations there in 2013.
The Pentagon also has said the U.S. will relocate most of the approximately 100 forces it has deployed in neighboring Chad for now. Chad is also considering whether to continue its security agreement with the U.S.
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that the departure from Chad "is a temporary step as part of the ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad’s May 6th presidential election.”
FILE - Supporters of Niger's ruling junta gather for a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference, in Niamey, Niger, Aug. 3, 2023. Russia has moved some troops onto an airbase in Niger where a small number of U.S. forces remain after most American troops left the base in Niamey, the nation's capital, a U.S. official said Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
