The United States on Wednesday announced sanctions against four Nicaraguan officials who support President Daniel Ortega, including the president's daughter, accusing the regime of undermining democracy and abusing human rights. "President Ortega's actions are harming Nicaraguans and driving the country deeper into tyranny," said Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. "The United States will continue to expose those officials who continue to ignore the will of its citizens." The move comes after Ortega's government detained four potential challengers for the presidency, meaning they are legally barred from running in November's election. US President Joe Biden's administration called on Ortega "to immediately release presidential candidates... as well as other civil society, opposition leaders who have been arrested over the past week," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. The Treasury sanctions target Ortega's daughter, Camila Antonia Ortega Murillo, coordinator of the Creative Economy Commission; Central Bank President Leonardo Ovidio Reyes Ramirez; National Assembly deputy Edwin Ramon Castro Rivera; and Brigadier General Julio Modesto Rodriguez Balladares. The measures block all assets of the targeted officials, and freeze them out of the US financial system. hs/sst