III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 556 

Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to hold the Ortega regime 

accountable for acts of violence and human rights abuses perpetrated 

against the Nicaraguan people. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 25, 2018 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. NELSON, Mr. 

PERDUE, Mr. KAINE, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. LEE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to hold 

the Ortega regime accountable for acts of violence and 

human rights abuses perpetrated against the Nicaraguan 

people. 

Whereas, on April 19, 2018, protests began in Managua, 

Nicaragua, as a result of changes made to the social security system by the Ortega regime that would have 

raised workers’ contributions and cut retirees’ pensions; 

Whereas Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Nicaragua as tied for 151 of 180, 

the third worst ranking for a country in the Western 

Hemisphere, after Venezuela and Haiti; 


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•SRES 556 IS 

Whereas numerous media outlets have reported on allegations 

regarding the involvement of Nicaraguan government officials in corruption, including misappropriating billions 

of dollars provided to Nicaragua by the Government of 

Venezuela; 

Whereas, on April 23, 2018, tens of thousands of people— 

workers, students, farmers, and representatives of the 

private sectors—demonstrated in Managua demanding an 

end to the repression, with some calling for the departure 

of the President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega; 

Whereas, on April 24, 2018, the United Nations called on the 

Government of Nicaragua to carry out ‘‘prompt, thorough, independent and transparent investigations into 

these deaths,’’ saying a number of the killings may have 

been ‘‘unlawful’’; 

Whereas, on May 13, 2018, the Catholic Church organized a 

national dialogue between the protesters and the Government of Nicaragua; 

Whereas, on May 17, 2018, the Executive Secretary of the 

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, Paulo Abra ̃o, arrived in 

Nicaragua to investigate the human rights violations that 

took place during the recent protests; 

Whereas, on May 21, 2018, the Inter-American Commission 

on Human Rights of the Organization of American 

States issued a statement that described the excessive use 

of force by Nicaraguan security forces and armed irregular groups that resulted in ‘‘dozens of persons killed and 

hundreds wounded; illegal and arbitrary detentions; practices of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; 


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•SRES 556 IS 

censorship and attacks on the press; and other forms of 

intimidation’’; 

Whereas, on May 21, 2018, the Inter-American Commission 

on Human Rights of the Organization of American 

States ‘‘emphatically condemn[ed] the deaths, attacks 

and arbitrary detentions of students, demonstrators, journalists and other citizens that have occurred in Nicaragua since the beginning of the protests’’; 

Whereas, on May 23, 2018, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes declared that talks had been suspended between the Ortega 

regime, the opposition, and civil society; 

Whereas, on May 29, 2018, Amnesty International released 

a report entitled ‘‘Shoot to Kill: Nicaragua’s Strategy to 

Repress Protest’’, which documented the lethal use of 

weapons, specifically noting that gunshots fired by progovernment groups were aimed to kill and targeted specific individuals; 

Whereas, on May 30, 2018, a peaceful ‘‘Mother’s Day protest’’ turned deadly, with an estimated 16 people killed 

and 88 injured during clashes; 

Whereas, on June 15, 2018, the National Dialogue resumed, 

resulting in a ceasefire agreement; 

Whereas, the next day, on June 16, 2018, armed irregular 

groups killed 6 members of a family in an arson attack 

against their home and business; 

Whereas, on June 18, 2018, the Department of State released a statement that affirmed, ‘‘The United States 

condemns the ongoing government-sponsored violence and 

intimidation campaign in Nicaragua . . . We urge immediate and full implementation of the June 15 National 

Dialogue agreement on human rights.’’; 


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•SRES 556 IS 

Whereas the June 2018 statement released by the Department of State stated, ‘‘We note the widespread call 

among Nicaraguans for early elections. The United 

States believes early elections represent a constructive 

way forward.’’; and 

Whereas, as of June 18, 2018, there were at least 178 deaths 

and more than 1,000 people injured as a result of the 

protests, according to data from the Centro Nicaraguense 

de Derechos Humanos (Nicaraguan Center for Human 

Rights, or Cenidh): Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the violence perpetrated against 

3 the citizens of Nicaragua by the Ortega regime and 

4 affiliated armed irregular groups; 

5 (2) calls on the Government of Nicaragua to 

6 end the repressive practices of its security forces and 

7 enact constitutional and legal reforms to better pro8 tect its citizens; 

9 (3) supports efforts by the Inter-American 

10 Commission on Human Rights of the Organization 

11 of American States to conduct a credible, inde12 pendent investigation into the killing of at least 178 

13 protestors; 

14 (4) encourages the Government of Nicaragua to 

15 commit to negotiations with representatives of the 

16 Catholic Church, civil society, student movement, 

17 private sector, and political opposition to bring about 


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•SRES 556 IS 

1 an end to the current political crisis, which should 

2 include a commitment to hold early elections that 

3 meet democratic standards and include international 

4 observation; 

5 (5) urges the international community to de6 nounce the human rights abuses and violence per7 petrated against the Nicaraguan people by the Or8 tega regime; and 

9 (6) calls on the President of the United States 

10 to exercise the authorities included in the Global 

11 Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (sub12 title F of title XII of Public Law 114–328; 22 

13 U.S.C. 2656 note) to impose sanctions with respect 

14 to any person who— 

15 (A) is responsible for extrajudicial killings, 

16 torture, or other gross violations of human 

17 rights in Nicaragua; or 

18 (B) is responsible for or complicit in order19 ing, controlling, or otherwise directing acts of 

20 significant corruption in Nicaragua. 

Æ 


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