Nicaragua: Government Shuts Down Hundreds of Evangelical NGOs

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – In a move seen as punishment for not aligning with Nicaragua’s authoritarian communist regime, Nicaraguan authorities have revoked the legal status of hundreds of evangelical NGOs and transferred their assets to the state, CBN News reports.

Nicaragua’s Interior Minister María Amelia Coronel said in a statement that the NGOs in question had lost their legal status because they failed to meet certain obligations, CBN News reports.

“These obligations include submitting their financial statements for periods ranging from one to 35 years, with a detailed breakdown of income and expenses, payment records, donation details, and their boards of directors,” CBN News noted in its report.

The unprecedented mass closure of NGOs follows Vice President Rosario Murillo’s announcement of “a new model of alliances between NGOs and the government,” in which organizations will now be “required to present programs or projects and collaborate with state institutions” in order to operate, CBN News reports.

The country’s Attorney General’s Office will oversee the transfer of movable and immovable assets from the NGOs to the State of Nicaragua, CBN News said.

In a website statement about the situation facing Christians in Nicaragua, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy group reports: “Given the government’s totalitarian control over Nicaragua, persecution is present throughout the country and at all levels. The government’s aim is not simply to silence the voice of Christians but, given their influence in the country, to hinder their credibility and stop their message from spreading.”

Ruled by totalitarian President Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua ranks 30 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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