WASHINGTON-Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned five individuals and seven companies that operate in Nicaragua’s gold sector of the Nicaraguan economy and help the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship generate money and maintain political control in Nicaragua. Those targeted today include Nicaraguan entities and individuals involved in the forceful seizure of U.S.-owned property in Nicaragua; Nicaragua’s Vice Minister of the Ministry of Energy and Mines; Nicaraguan entities that have assumed gold concessions previously held by sanctioned parties; and two sons of Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s co-presidents, who serve as officials in the Nicaraguan government.
“The Murillo-Ortega dictatorship has sought to fill its own coffers through the use of these gold companies and co-conspirators by confiscating American investments in Nicaragua and using it to generate funds to maintain its political power,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The United States will not allow the illicit confiscation of American-owned assets and will continue to target revenue streams that empower the corrupt Murillo-Ortega regime.”
This action also takes place almost eight years since the beginning of the Nicaraguan people’s efforts to make their voices heard against the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship. In the days following mass demonstrations that began on April 18, 2018, the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship was responsible for the violent deaths of nearly 30 Nicaraguan civilians. Since then, the United States has consistently maintained diplomatic and economic pressure on the Nicaraguan government to reform, only to be met with continued intransigence and further efforts to suppress the rights of its people.
Today’s action was taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13851, as amended by E.O. 14088, which authorizes sanctions on certain persons in response to the national emergency with respect to the situation in Nicaragua. This action would not have been possible without the ongoing collaboration of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Miami Field Office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center.
MURILLO-ORTEGA FAMILY MEMBERS
Daniel Ortega has held power in Nicaragua for over 30 years, turning Nicaragua into a family dynasty through his co-presidency with his wife Rosario Murillo. The constitutional changes that moved Murillo from vice president to co-president ensured the continuity in power, institutionalizing a totalitarian state and ultimately making the Nicaraguan people subordinate to the dictatorial couple. The dictatorship has turned the State into a family instrument and further concentrated power in the couple. It is not only Murillo who wields more power now, but also her adult children, including Laureano Ortega Murillo (Laureano), a son of Murillo and Ortega, who have been appointed to several key positions within the Nicaraguan government. OFAC sanctioned Laureano on April 17, 2019.
Two of Murillo and Ortega’s sons were designated today due to their roles as officials in the Nicaraguan government. Maurice Facundo Ortega Murillo (Maurice Ortega) serves as the Nicaraguan Presidential Delegate for Sports. He is tasked with overseeing the Nicaraguan Institute of Sports and its leadership and promoting the public image of his parents in that sphere. Daniel Edmundo Ortega Murillo (Daniel Edmundo Ortega) is the head of the Communication and Citizenship Council of Nicaragua.
Today, OFAC designated Maurice Ortega and Daniel Edmundo Ortega pursuant to E.O. 13851, as amended, each for being an official of the Government of Nicaragua or having served as an official of the Government of Nicaragua at any time on or after January 10, 2007.
DICTATORSHIP THROUGH ILLICIT GOLD SCHEMES AND NEPOTISM
The Murillo-Ortega dictatorship has placed family members in key positions to maintain control of crucial sectors of the Nicaraguan economy. Since 2020, it has restructured the mining sector into a complex network of front companies and frontmen designed to generate foreign currency, launder sanctioned assets, and reinforce political control for their own benefit. This corrupt, government-controlled scheme is managed by two U.S.-sanctioned individuals: Laureano and Salvador Mansell Castrillo (Mansell), Nicaragua’s Minister of Energy and Mines, whom OFAC sanctioned on November 15, 2021.
High-ranking members of the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship have benefited from Nicaragua’s increase in gold exports in recent years, due to the outsized role the state-owned Nicaraguan mining company-Empresa Nicaraguense de Minas (ENIMINAS)-plays in funneling profits to private sector partners and kickbacks to regime insiders. ENIMINAS is empowered by the Murillo-Ortega regime to decide which companies it will use for the exploitation of gold and mining reserves. OFAC sanctioned ENIMINAS on June 17, 2022.
COMPLICIT NICARAGUAN Gold COMPANIES
Exportadora de Metales Sociedad Anonima (EMSA) is a Managua, Nicaragua-based company that sells gold in bulk in the United States. EMSA is one of multiple enterprises organized by the Nicaraguan government to generate revenues for government use. EMSA has collected unrefined gold from six different locations in Nicaragua to smelt it in the EMSA headquarters in Managua. The profits from the gold sale have been electronically transferred to a bank account in Managua, which has then possibly been used to equip, train, and pay the salaries of the Nicaraguan paramilitary groups subordinate to the Nicaraguan government.
Grupo Minero Xiloa S.A. (Minero) is a Nicaraguan company that became more prominent after OFAC sanctioned Compania Minera Internacional, Sociedad Anonima (COMINTSA), and Capital Mining Investment Nicaragua on May 15, 2024. Minero buys artisanal gold in cash, processes it, and exports it through the network of allied Nicaraguan companies, using the U.S. financial system to legitimize illicit funds. These resources are then used to finance the regime’s repressive operations and maintain the political machinery that ensures its hold on power. Multiple former officials from U.S.-sanctioned entities ENIMINAS, Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito Caja Rural Nacional RL (Caruna), and Alba de Nicaragua (Albanisa) are now involved in Minero. OFAC sanctioned Caruna on October 9, 2020; Albanisa is blocked by operation of law, as it is owned 51 percent by Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), which was designated on January 28, 2019.
Thomas Metal S.A. (Thomas Metal) is a Nicaraguan gold firm that has been granted tens of thousands of acres in mineral concessions by the Murillo-Ortega regime.
Nicaragua Xinxin Linze Mineria Group S.A. (Xinxin) is a Nicaraguan gold firm that has been granted tens of thousands of acres in mineral concessions by the Murillo-Ortega regime. Xinxin has been identified as having shipped over $25 million in gold to the United States in early to mid-2025.
Brother Metal S.A. (Brother Metal) is a Nicaraguan gold firm that has been granted tens of thousands of acres in mineral concessions by the Murillo-Ortega regime, despite having little to no history of gold exploration in Nicaragua.
Today, OFAC designated EMSA, Minero, Thomas Metal, Xinxin, and Brother Metal pursuant to E.O. 13851, as amended, for operating or having operated in the gold sector of the Nicaraguan economy.
ACTORS INVOLVED in THE CONFISCATION OF U.S. ASSETS
In 2025, representatives of companies associated with the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship arbitrarily occupied a plant owned by BHMB Mining Nicaragua S.A. (BHMB), a Nicaraguan company founded in 2019 with foreign investment from a U.S. company. According to public reporting, the individuals broke into BHMB’s facility, expelled security personnel, and assumed physical control of the property. BHMB has reportedly not received any compensation for the seizure of its property, and the Government of Nicaragua has only recently formally rescinded BHMB’s license to operate.
Nicaraguan gold firms Zhong Fu Development S.A. (Zhong Fu) and Santa Rita Mining Company S.A. (Santa Rita) are among the companies linked to the Murillo-Ortega regime that took part in the forcible seizure of BHMB’s gold processing site. Zhong Fu is a Nicaraguan gold firm that primarily operates in the Nicaraguan gold trade. Feiwu Bian (Bian), the president and legal representative of Zhong Fu, was identified as one of the individuals involved in the occupation of BHMB’s plant. Anibal Vladimir Matus Buitrago (Buitrago), a legal representative of Zhong Fu, was also identified as one of the individuals involved in the occupation of BHMB’s plant. Santa Rita is a Nicaraguan gold firm that has been granted thousands of acres in concessions for the extraction of minerals by the Murillo-Ortega regime.
Today, OFAC designated Zhong Fu and Santa Rita, pursuant to E.O. 13851, as amended, for operating or having operated in the gold sector of the Nicaraguan economy. OFAC designated Bian pursuant to E.O. 13851, as amended, for acting for or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Zhong Fu and for operating or having operated in the gold sector of the Nicaraguan economy. OFAC designated Buitrago pursuant to E.O. 13851, as amended, for acting for or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Zhong Fu, and for operating or having operated in the gold sector of the Nicaraguan economy.
FRONTMEN UNDERPINNING THE ILLICIT GOLD SCHEME
Santiago Hernan Bermudez Tapia (Bermudez) is the Vice Minister of Energy and Mines. Today, OFAC designated Bermudez pursuant to E.O. 13851, as amended, for being an official of the Government of Nicaragua or having served as an official of the Government of Nicaragua at any time on or after January 10, 2007.
Nelson Francisco Sobalvarro (Sobalvarro) is the legal representative of COMINTSA with general power of attorney. Sobalvarro transferred COMINTSA’s mining concessions to Zhong Fu prior to sanctions and to Thomas Metal after COMINTSA was sanctioned.
Today, OFAC designated Sobalvarro pursuant to E.O. 13851, as amended, for acting for or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, COMINTSA, and for operating or having operated in the gold sector of the Nicaraguan economy.
Lester Matus Tamariz (Tamariz) is an attorney whose notary public services facilitated and expedited the mining concessions to Zhong Fu. Today, OFAC designated Tamariz pursuant to E.O. 13851, as amended, for acting for or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Zhong Fu.
SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked individuals described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or blocked persons.
Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons. OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis. OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC’s enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions. In addition, financial institutions and other persons may risk exposure to sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities involving designated or otherwise blocked persons. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. Individuals located in the U.S. or abroad who provide information about sanctions violations to Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) whistleblower incentive program may be eligible for awards if the information they provide leads to a successful enforcement action that results in monetary penalties exceeding $1,000,000. FinCEN is currently accepting whistleblower tips.
Furthermore, engaging in certain transactions involving the persons designated today may risk the imposition of secondary sanctions on participating foreign financial institutions. OFAC can prohibit or impose strict conditions on opening or maintaining, in the United States, a correspondent account or a payable-through account of a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates any significant transaction on behalf of a person who is designated pursuant to the relevant authority.