Tourists entering Nicaragua are no longer permitted to bring Bibles into the country, according to new reports that deepen concerns about religious freedom under President Daniel Ortega’s government.
The U.K.-based advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported this month that notices posted at Tica Bus terminals in Costa Rica — which operate routes into Nicaragua’s capital, Managua — warn passengers that magazines, newspapers, cameras, and books, including the Bible, are prohibited from entry.
The list of banned items also includes knives, perishable food, and drones. A representative at the company’s Honduras location told CSW that the restrictions have been enforced for approximately six months.
Anna Lee Stangl, CSW’s director of advocacy and Americas team leader, urged the Nicaraguan government to reverse course.
“The Nicaraguan government’s efforts to restrict the entry of Bibles, other books, newspapers, and magazines into the country are highly concerning, given the current context of repression,” Stangl said in a statement. “We call on the government of Nicaragua to lift this ban immediately, and to cease its continued efforts to stifle freedom of religion or belief and expression in the country.”
Stangl also appealed to the international community to find “creative ways to support and strengthen independent Nicaraguan voices both inside the country and in exile.”
The reported ban arrives amid the continuing crackdown on religious and civil society groups. In the spring, Nicaragua withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council after facing international condemnation for what critics described as a systematic assault on human rights, democratic institutions, and religious communities, according to International Christian Concern.
Christian churches — especially the Catholic Church — have been among the few institutions to publicly challenge the Ortega government, particularly during and after mass protests in 2018. Clergy provided refuge to demonstrators and called for dialogue, actions that were later met with arrests, expulsions, and heightened surveillance.
Since April 2018, more than 5,000 independent civil organizations have had their legal status revoked, including over 1,300 religious groups. Numerous pastors and lay leaders have been jailed or forced into exile, and Church-run charities, schools, and media outlets have been shuttered.
As Christmas approaches — a season centered on the Word made flesh — the prohibition underscores the fragile state of liberty in Nicaragua, and the growing urgency of international attention to the country’s unfolding crisis.
