Nicaraguan dictatorship shuts down more nonprofit Catholic organizations, evangelical churches

The Metropolitan Cathedral Santiago Apóstol and the National Palace in Managua, Nicaragua / Credit: Martin Thurnherr, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Lima Newsroom, Aug 30, 2024 / 15:53 pm (CNA).

The Nicaraguan dictatorship closed another 169 nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations, including some Catholic organizations, various evangelical churches, and a Muslim association.

The closure of these organizations — bringing the total to 5,664 nonprofits closed since 2018 by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, in Nicaragua, according to the newspaper La Prensa — was announced Aug. 29 through the official government newspaper La Gaceta.

The cancellation of the legal status of this new group of nonprofits for not reporting financial statements for two to 30 years, among other reasons, was decided through ministerial agreement 40-2024-OSFL of the Ministry of the Interior, signed by Interior Minister María Amelia Coronel Kinloch.

According to the newspaper Mosaico, there are a total of 92 religious nonprofits that have been canceled this time, such as the Association of Justice and Peace Commissions of the Diocese of León and the Moravian Church, which has been present in Nicaragua since 1849.

Other nonprofits that have closed Thursday include, for example, the Latino Islamic Cultural Association, the Voice of God Evangelistic Revival Ministry Association, the St. Francis of Assisi Association, the Free Apostolic Church Association, the Reformed Christian Church of Nicaragua, the San José Matagalpa Charismatic Renewal Religious Association, the Association of Christian Businessmen of Nicaragua, and the Jinotega Livestock Ranchers Association.

This closure comes just 10 days after the closure, ordered by the dictatorship as well, of 1,500 nonprofits in Nicaragua, announced on Aug. 19. Of that group, 678 were Catholic and evangelical organizations.

Martha Patricia Molina, author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?”, which cites 870 attacks by the dictatorship against the Catholic Church from 2018 to 2024, wrote on X: “My solidarity [and] prayer with all the members of the Moravian Church. A church with 175 years of existence in our country and more than 120,000 parishioners. Today the dictatorship canceled its legal personhood, but the love of God does not depend on an illegal document or the temperament of two criminals [Ortega-Murillo].”

“The love of God is in our hearts and spirits. The dictatorship continues to show its hatred and persecution of religious freedom and of the Miskitu, Afro, and Mayagna people. Our church WILL RESURRECT,” she added.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.