Joe Biden signs bill calling for more sanctions, pressure on Nicaragua

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law a bill calling for more sanctions and other punitive measures against the government of Nicaraguan President

Daniel Ortega

, who extended his grip on power in an election that

Washington

has denounced as a sham, the

White House

said.

The arrests of dozens of opposition politicians, including presidential hopefuls, all but guaranteed Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla, would win a fourth consecutive term in Sunday's election, tightening his grip on the Central American nation while facing increasing international isolation.