Crackdown on Christian ministries continues in Nicaragua, assets seized by the state
Nicaragua’s government has shut down 1,500 non-profit organizations, including hundreds of evangelical religious groups, as part of a crackdown on groups not allied with the government, CBN News reported on August 20.
The move is part of President Daniel Ortega’s latest effort to consolidate control over the country. Vice President Rosario Murillo and Interior Minister María Amelia Coronel are reportedly involved in the ongoing crackdown.
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The government is also seizing non-profit assets for the state, with the Attorney General’s Office responsible for transferring movable and immovable assets on behalf of the State of Nicaragua. The government has also targeted Roman Catholic leaders who have taken a stand against human rights abuses in the country. Still, most of the shuttered ministries were “affiliated with evangelical communities.”
Since 2018, more than 5,200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been wiped out by the government of Nicaragua. Any NGOs allowed to continue to operate will be forced to “collaborate with state institutions.” Additionally, persecution has been directed at Christian pastors, with at least 11 evangelical pastors and ministry leaders imprisoned after holding mass evangelism events in partnership with a U.S. ministry called Mountain Gateway, according to the CBN News report.