WASHINGTON _ The Trump administration placed stiff sanctions Tuesday on the wife of Nicaragua's embattled leader and on his top security aide, sharply ratcheting up pressure on the Central American autocrat to back down from his political opposition and hold elections.
The financial sanctions bar all U.S. banks and other entities from any economic dealings with Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo, Ortega's wife, who exercises much of the day-to-day power in Nicaragua.
Also hit by the sanctions was Nestor Moncada Lau, a former state security official who is widely seen as Ortega's second most trusted security aide, after Murillo.
