Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and author of the Restoring Sovereignty and Human Rights in Nicaragua Act of 2026 (HR 7055), issued the following statement in response to the State Department’s announcement today that the U.S. has imposed additional visa restrictions on more than one hundred Murillo-Ortega dictatorship officials and their family members:

                “The brutal Murillo-Ortega regime continues to eviscerate the basic rights and fundamental freedoms of the Nicaraguan people. Today’s actions by the Department of State are a welcome step in furthering accountability for authoritarian dictators in Latin America.

                “President Trump and Secretary Rubio are sending a clear message that the United States stands with the Nicaraguan people, will not tolerate the Murillo-Ortega regime’s extreme repression of non-violent individuals, and will hold those responsible who were complicit in the death of Brooklyn Rivera and the detention of his family members.

                “For far too long, the Murillo-Ortega regime has suppressed civil society—especially the Catholic Church, which has been the focus of congressional hearings I chaired in 2021, 2022, and 2023—conducted extra-judicial killings of activists, and brazenly stolen millions of dollars that rightfully belong to the Nicaraguan people. All tools available must be used to hold corrupt regime officials accountable for their role in oppressing the Nicaraguan people. 

                “The Trump Administration continues to demonstrate the resolve of the United States in securing a free future for the Western Hemisphere and holding dictators accountable to the rule of law.”

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