Persecution of religious figures in Nicaragua, particularly the Catholic Church, has intensified since 2018 protests against the government of President Daniel Ortega. According to a recent report published by Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca MasAt Inc., a human rights organization operating in exile from Costa Rica, the situation has reached an unprecedented level of seriousness.

The report reveals that more than 50 representatives of the Catholic Church, including 43 priests, have been banned from entering Nicaragua since 2018. This crackdown led to the arbitrary detention of at least 74 religious figures and the stripping of citizenship of 35 others. The organization called it “the greatest persecution of churches in the country’s history,” emphasizing that Nicaragua had never witnessed such large-scale imprisonment of priests and persecution of religious men and women, even in times of war.

The Ortega government’s actions extend beyond the religious community. Since February 2023, approximately 450 people, including politicians, businessmen, journalists, intellectuals and human rights activists, have been deported from Nicaragua on charges of “treason” and their citizenships have been taken away.

This systematic repression stems from the government’s response to the 2018 protests, which 78-year-old former guerrilla Ortega branded as a coup attempt allegedly encouraged by the United States and supported by the religious community. According to United Nations reports, the crackdown on these demonstrations resulted in more than 300 deaths.

Recent developments have further strained relations between Nicaragua and the Vatican. In March 2024, Pope Francis Openly referring to Ortega’s government as a “grotesque dictatorship” led to the closure of the Vatican’s embassy in Nicaragua the following month after the government proposed suspending diplomatic relations.

The international community has expressed increasing concern about the human rights situation in Nicaragua. In April 2024, the United Nations Human Rights Council renewed for two years the reporting mandate of the Nicaraguan Group of Experts on Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The decision followed a report published in March that found reasonable grounds to believe that Nicaraguan authorities were committing crimes against humanity, including politically motivated murder, imprisonment, torture and persecution.

As the situation continues to evolve, the plight of religious figures and other persecuted groups in Nicaragua remains a significant concern for both human rights organizations and the international community.

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