Tourists Barred From Bringing Bibles Into Nicaragua Amid Widening Crackdown on Christians

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – Nicaraguan authorities have begun barring tourists from bringing Bibles into the country, a move that signals an intensifying crackdown on religious freedom and independent expression.

According to the U.K.-based advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), notices posted at Tica Bus terminals in Costa Rica list Bibles among newly prohibited items for travelers entering Nicaragua. The ban also applies to newspapers, magazines, books of any kind, as well as drones and cameras.

Representatives from Tica Bus offices in El Salvador and Honduras confirmed the restrictions, saying passengers traveling to Managua are not permitted to carry religious or printed materials. One official said the policy has been in effect for more than six months.

The restrictions come amid years of mounting repression under President Daniel Ortega’s government. Since April 2018, more than 5,000 independent civil society organizations have been stripped of their legal status, including over 1,300 religious groups. Clergy and faith leaders have faced surveillance, arbitrary detention, and bans on public religious processions unless organized by groups aligned with the state.

CSW’s Director of Advocacy and Americas Team Leader Anna Lee Stangl called the ban “highly concerning,” warning it reflects broader efforts to control the flow of independent voices and information into the country. She urged the Nicaraguan government to lift the restrictions and restore freedom of religion and expression.

Human rights groups say the church remains one of the last institutions willing to publicly challenge Ortega’s rule, making it a primary target of ongoing repression. The developments further underscore Nicaragua’s deepening human rights crisis, drawing renewed concern from international observers and advocates for persecuted Christians worldwide.

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