WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States today sought to further pressure on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega by imposing another round of sanctions, this time targeting the country’s army chief and finance minister.

“The Ortega regime’s continued violations of basic human rights, blatant corruption, and widespread violence against the Nicaraguan people are unacceptable,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

U.S. officials have previously targeted Ortega’s leftist government as the Trump administration seeks to increase pressure amid anti-government protests against what critics have said is Ortega’s increasingly authoritarian-style rule.

Last year, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Ortega’s son as well as three other Nicaraguan officials, among others.

“The United States  will continue to apply pressure to  the Ortega regime  until  it  stops  repressing the Nicaraguan people, respects  human rights and fundamental freedoms, and allows the conditions for free and fair elections and the restoration of democracy in Nicaragua,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a separate statement on Friday.