Nicaragua bans Rubio, Ros-Lehtinen from traveling to the country

Nicaragua may be a popular spot for eco-tourism, but President Daniel Ortega says Sen. Marco Rubio or Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen aren't welcome in the Central American country.

But neither Florida Republican seems fazed by Ortega's decision to ban Rubio and Ros-Lehtinen from traveling to Nicaragua.

"Just like they (U.S. officials) have their lists, we can make our own lists in Latin America of those who shouldn't enter our country," Ortega is quoted as saying in The Tico Times.

Rubio and Ros-Lehtinen support sanctions against Venezuela, including a prohibition on travel to the United States by high-ranking government officials and freezing their assets because of their treatment of pro-democracy protesters.

Congress passed the legislation sanctioning Venezuelan officials last week, and President Obama has indicated he would sign the measure. Venezuela and Nicaragua share political and economic interests.

Rubio mocked Ortega on Twitter, while Ros-Lehtinen indicated the Nicaraguan leader is just adding to her resolve to fight for human rights around the globe.

Rubio said the legislation is just the first step to address human rights abuses in Venezuela. "It will be a blow to the hypocrites in (President) Nicolas Maduro's regime who talk a lot about socialist sacrifice but who themselves are immune from its failures and live in a fantasy world of gold-plated iPads and fancy cars, even though most Venezuelans can't even find basic necessities like food and toilet paper," Rubio said in a statement last week when the bill cleared Congress.

Ros-Lehtinen told the Miami Herald over the weekend that "it's a badge of honor to be banned by a thug like Ortega."