Country Alert: Nicaragua Added to ITAR 126.1 and EAR Military End-User Rule

On March 15, 2024, the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) issued a new rule (89 FR 18796) that adds Nicaragua to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) § 126.1 list of prohibited destinations

The primary rationales of the new listing are based on human rights concerns and security cooperation with Russia.  Nicaragua is now listed in § 126.1(p) with case-by-case exceptions related to "non-lethal military equipment intended solely for humanitarian assistance, to include natural disaster relief."

Also on December 9, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a new rule (89 FR 18780) making parallel changes to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).  Under the EAR, Nicaragua is now subject to military end use and end user controls in § 744.21.  Nicaragua joins Belarus, Burma, Cambodia, China, Russia, and Venezuela as subject to the military end use and end user  (MEU) controls.

Fr full details, check out the ECS Blog: Our EAR... to the ITAR.