The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday added the Nicaraguan National Police to a government export control list after the Biden administration said the police force was engaged in serious human rights abuses in Nicaragua.
Last week, the State Department cited credible reports of arbitrary killings, arrests and torture in Nicaragua, as well as harsh and life-threatening conditions in the country's prisons, in an annual human rights report.
The Commerce Department "Entity List" designation bars companies from selling U.S. technology without a hard-to-obtain permit.
