New Delhi, June 9 -- The United States has placed travel bans on more than 100 Nicaraguan officials and their family members as part of a broader campaign to punish the current government for human rights abuses.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Monday that the new sanctions were imposed in part because of the death last month of an imprisoned activist, Brooklyn Rivera, who criticized the policies of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife and co-president Rosario Murillo.

"The United States stands with the Nicaraguan people who, like Rivera, aspire to see a free Nicaragua," Rubio said.

Nicaragua's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. has now barred more than 2,350 Nica...