Since the beginning of the year, the Nicaraguan dictatorship led by Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, has continued to target civil and religious organizations. No fewer than 15 non-profit associations have had their legal status revoked, adding to a horrifying list of over 5,400 structures closed since 2018. Among the most recent targets are Christian entities, including Catholic and evangelical foundations.
On January 8, the official gazette La Gaceta announced the purported "voluntary dissolution" of 11 organizations, including the Foundation of the Dominican Sisters of Nicaragua and the international NGO Save the Children, which had operated in the country since 1986. The latter worked in essential areas such as education, health, and child protection, in addition to responding to urgent humanitarian situations. Despite having dedicated staff in Managua and Matagalpa, it did not escape this wave of repression.
Other Christian entities, such as the Ebenezer Evangelical Christian Mission and the Association of Baptist Churches of Matagalpa, have also been affected.
In addition to closures under the guise of "voluntary dissolution," four other organizations were accused of failing to comply with their administrative obligations. Among them are the Nicaraguan House of Spirituality and History Foundation and the Christ Is Coming Pentecostal Ministry. These accusations appear primarily to serve as a pretext to legitimize an increasingly targeted persecution of religious institutions.
The figures for 2024 speak for themselves: approximately 1,700 organizations were closed that year, a large number of which were linked to Christian Churches. In August 2024 alone, the regime ordered the closure of 1,500 structures, including 678 religious entities, both Catholic and evangelical.
The 2025 report by the evangelical organization International Christian Concern denounces this repression orchestrated by the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Interior. The latter is working to persecute hundreds of churches, charitable associations, and religious organizations, particularly those striving to meet the needs of local populations in an increasingly tense context.
These attacks on charitable and religious works demonstrate a flagrant contempt for fundamental rights and religious freedom. Behind these numbers lies a tragic reality: the closure of these institutions deprives thousands of vulnerable people of spiritual and material support.