U.S. lawmakers approve bill to ratchet up pressure on Nicaragua's Ortega

FILE PHOTO: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega holds a document while speaking during an event with Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez (not pictured) where they signed a territorial treaty to define their borders in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, in Managua, Nicaragua October 27, 2021. Picture taken October 27, 2021. Honduras Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday approved legislation calling for more sanctions and other punitive measures to ratchet up pressure on Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega just days before an election there that Washington has denounced as a sham.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill 387-35 with strong bipartisan support following a similar vote by the Senate this week, sending it to President Joe Biden to sign into law.