Nicaragua

Biden's order and other steps announced Monday are perhaps the most aggressive attempt by the U.S. to hold the Ortega accountable for his continued attacks on human rights and democracy.

"The world had its say," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, calling Russia's push for annexation "worthless."

Now a tropical depression, former Hurricane Julia drenched Guatemala and El Salvador with torrential rains Monday after it reemerged in the Pacific following a pounding of Nicaragua.

The storm swept across Nicaragua and has emerged over the Pacific. The region was already saturated by weeks of heavy rains before Julia arrived.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is running for a fourth consecutive term to remain leader of the Central American country in elections that critics and U.S. officials have labeled a "sham."

Global Witness, an international human rights group, says a record 227 grassroots environmental activists were killed in 2020. More than half were killed in Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines.

Iota diminished to a Category 1 hurricane within hours of its landfall in Nicaragua. Still, as the second strong storm to hit the region in as many weeks, Iota bears grave dangers for residents.

The storm is expected to make landfall Monday as a Category 4 hurricane. Its arrival comes as the region is still recovering from Hurricane Eta, which killed at least 150 people earlier this month.

Although significantly diminished from its status as a Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall, Eta continues to pose a flooding danger, especially to Nicaragua and neighboring Honduras.

The center of the Category 4 storm, packing winds of 145 mph, is moving toward the coast Tuesday morning. It's expected to dump torrential rains in the country's poorest region.