Nicaragua nationalizes major gas station chain linked to Ortega

By Ismael Lopez

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Nicaragua's National Assembly on Saturday approved nationalizing a major gas station company two days after the United States imposed sanctions on it for allegedly being used by President Daniel Ortega's family to finance and launder money for the government.

The company, Distribuidor Nicaraguense de Petroleo (DNP), controls a third of the country's gas sales. The U.S. Treasury Department says it is owned or controlled by Ortega family members, and was bought with public money before being transferred to the family.

"All inventories of fuels and petroleum products owned by the Distribuidor Nicaraguense de Petroleo are declared ...