The Nicaraguan government, led by President Daniel Ortega and his wife Vice President Rosario Murillo, has intensified its campaign against nonprofit organizations in the country, shutting down 15 more entities in early January 2025.
According to an article by Walter Sánchez Silva for CNA, this move adds to a staggering total of over 5,400 NGOs shuttered since 2018.
The announcement, published in the official government newspaper La Gaceta on January 8, listed 11 organizations dissolved under what the regime termed “voluntary dissolution.”
Among the most notable are Save the Children and the Dominican Nuns Foundation of Nicaragua.
Organizations serving vulnerable populations
Save the Children, active in Nicaragua since 1986, had focused on education, health, child protection, and humanitarian aid. The organization’s 46 staff members operated in Managua and Matagalpa, addressing critical needs for children in vulnerable communities.
The Dominican Nuns Foundation, a Catholic institution dedicated to charity and spiritual outreach, was also among those affected. This is part of a wider pattern of religious persecution under the Ortega regime.
In 2023 alone, according to International Christian Concern’s 2025 global report, 315 religious organizations were shut down, including Catholic and evangelical groups. The report accuses the government of using the Ministry of the Interior to target faith-based organizations systematically.
Additional closures
Other groups dissolved in the January 8 announcement include the Ebenezer Christian Missionary Foundation and the Fundamental Baptist Church Association of Matagalpa. Four additional organizations were closed for “failing to comply with their obligations,” including the Christ Is Coming Pentecost Ministry Foundation and the Nicaraguan House of Spirituality, Culture, History, Anthropology, Archaeology, and Art Foundation.
In 2024, the regime closed approximately 1,700 nonprofits, including 1,500 in a single day on August 19. Of these, 678 were Christian organizations.
Such sweeping actions have drawn widespread international criticism for their violation of religious freedom and human rights.
A pattern of repression
The Ortega-Murillo government has become infamous for targeting churches, charities, and civil society organizations that provide aid or advocate for human dignity. These measures are part of a broader campaign to consolidate power, suppress dissent, and eliminate perceived threats to the regime’s authority.
Religious institutions, particularly Christian ones, have been a consistent target. Their advocacy for justice, peace, and the rights of the vulnerable poses a direct challenge to the government’s authoritarian policies.
