News aus Amerika
The Biden administration is ratcheting up pressure on President Daniel Ortega's authoritarian rule in Nicaragua, threatening a ban on Americans from doing business in the nation's gold industry, raising the possibility of trade restrictions and stripping the U.S. visas of some 500 government insiders.
The actions, stemming from an executive order signed by President Joe Biden on Monday, are the latest and perhaps most aggressive attempt by the U.S. to hold the former Sandinista guerrilla leader accountable for his continued attacks on human rights and democracy in the Central American country as well his continued security cooperation with Russia.
Previous rounds of sanctions have focused on Ortega, his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, and members of their family and inner circle. But none of those moves have managed to loosen Ortega's grip on power. The latest target by Ortega's government: the Roman Catholic Church. In August, security raided the residence of a bishop, detaining him and several other clergy.
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Gold is Nicaragua's largest export
The Biden administration's targeting of the gold industry could sap Ortega's government of one of its biggest sources of revenue. Gold was the country's largest export in 2020 and the country, already the largest producer of the precious metal in Central America, is looking to double output in the next five years.
According to Nicaragua's Central Bank, the country exported a record 348,532 ounces of gold in 2021 and the country's mining association projects exports totaling 500,000 ounces in 2023.
Among foreign investors active in the country is Condor Gold, whose CEO, Mark Child, appeared in a photo with the Nicaraguan leader in a September presentation for investors prepared by the U.K.-based company.
"He is basically totally supportive of the project," Child said in a March interview following a 90-minute meeting with Ortega. "That meeting ... basically gives a major green light for the construction of project finance and materially de-risks the project."
The Toronto and London-listed Condor has permits to build and operate three open pit mines, the most advanced of which is believed to hold 602,000 ounces of gold worth nearly $900 million at current prices. Condor is partly owned by a company belonging to American mining engineer who has worked for decades in the country.
Shares in Condor were up slightly 2 cents, or 3.8%, following the U.S. announcement. However, another Toronto-listed junior mining company with operations in Nicaragua, Calibre Mining Corp, saw its share price plunge 17 cents, or 17%.
The Vancouver-based firm has several mining projects in Nicaragua believed to contain 2.9 million ounces of gold.
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