•HRES 754 IH 
Whereas recent elections in Nicaragua, including the 2016 
Presidential elections, have been marred by irregularities 
and characterized by significant restrictions on the par-
ticipation of opposition parties and the absence of cred-
ible international and local electoral observers; 
Whereas Nicaraguan security forces, parapolice, and other 
actors working under the direction of the Ortega regime 
committed gross violations of human rights and acts of 
repression, resulting in more than 325 deaths, over 2,000 
injuries, and at least 800 arbitrary detentions during the 
peaceful protests that took place in 2018, according to 
the Organization of American States; 
Whereas a report by the Interdisciplinary Group of Inde-
pendent Experts, appointed by the Organization of Amer-
ican States Inter-American Commission on Human 
Rights, determined that the Ortega regime used delib-
erate, lethal force against protesters and committed acts 
of torture that meet the international legal standard of 
crimes against humanity; 
Whereas an estimated 62,000 Nicaraguans fled the country 
between April 2018 and April 2019, according to the 
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; 
Whereas the Ortega government reneged on its commitment 
to release all political prisoners by releasing just 392 peo-
ple, of which 286 were released to house arrest with 
charges still pending, while the Civic Alliance for Justice 
and Democracy alleges that there remain over 150 polit-
ical prisoners as of November 29, 2019; 
Whereas a United States citizen and Navy veteran, 57-year- 
old Eddy Montes, was shot and killed while in the cus-
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•HRES 754 IH 
tody of the Nicaraguan police at La Modelo Prison on 
May 16, 2019; 
Whereas the government of Daniel Ortega has severely re-
stricted freedom of the press by closing five local tele-
vision stations, attacking independent radio stations, ar-
bitrarily detaining journalists, and illegally restricting 
print supplies from entering the country; 
Whereas the Ortega regime has violated the economic and po-
litical rights protections of indigenous communities, rural 
campesinos, land rights defenders, and those living in the 
Caribbean Autonomous Regions of Nicaragua; 
Whereas, on November 27, 2018, Executive Order 13851 was 
issued, which blocks the property of certain persons con-
tributing to the situation in Nicaragua, and its applica-
tion was expanded on September 4, 2019; 
Whereas the Departments of State and the Treasury have 
imposed targeted sanctions on nine Nicaraguan officials, 
including First Lady and Vice President Rosario Murillo 
and Daniel Ortega’s son, Laureano Ortega, as well as 
Nicaragua’s Banco Corporativo (Bancorp); 
Whereas the bipartisan Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality 
Act (NICA Act), was signed into law on December 20, 
2018, allowing the Department of the Treasury to sanc-
tion non-United States persons implicated in egregious 
human rights abuses and corruption in Nicaragua; 
Whereas, in June 2019, Canada imposed sanctions on 12 
members of the Nicaraguan Government engaged in 
gross and systemic human rights violations; 
Whereas the Ortega government has not complied with ef-
forts of the commission appointed by the Permanent 
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•HRES 754 IH 
Council of the Organization of American States seeking 
a peaceful resolution to the social and political crisis; 
Whereas, on September 15, 2019, the Ortega government de-
nied entry into the country to an official Organization of 
American States delegation mission; and 
Whereas, beginning on November 14, 2019, Nicaraguan po-
lice conducted attacks on churches throughout the coun-
try, cut water to hunger strikers barricaded inside a 
church in Masaya, and arrested 13 people attempting to 
bring them water: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) calls on the Nicaraguan Government to im-
mediately release all political prisoners without con-
ditions and cease all acts of violence, repression, and 
intimidation against dissenting voices in Nicaragua; 
(2) condemns the Nicaraguan Government’s 
continued failure to comply with agreements made 
with the Organization of American States; 
(3) urges the Ortega government to respect 
Nicaraguans’ constitutional rights and implement 
electoral reforms including free, fair, multiparty elec-
tions open to international observers, in compliance 
with the agreement reached through negotiations 
with the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy 
and the Blue and White National Unity (UNAB) in 
March 2019; 
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•HRES 754 IH 
(4) expresses full support for the people of 
Nicaragua, Nicaraguan independent media, and Nic-
araguan civil society organizations that are working 
for a peaceful return to democratic order in Nica-
ragua; 
(5) recognizes and supports efforts of the 
United States Government to promote democracy in 
Nicaragua and hold corrupt actors and human 
rights abusers in the Nicaraguan Government ac-
countable for their actions; 
(6) urges the United States Government to con-
tinue to apply pressure on the Ortega government 
and consider additional sanctions against those Nic-
araguan officials who have violated the human rights 
of their citizens or committed acts of significant cor-
ruption; and 
(7) urges the international community to hold 
the Ortega government accountable for human 
rights abuses, including attacks on religious free-
dom, and restrict its access to foreign financing un-
less or until it allows for free, fair, and prompt elec-
tions monitored by credible international and local 
electoral observers. 
Æ 
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