‘Spiritual Terrorism’

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Nicaragua on Monday outlawed 1,500 non-governmental organizations, many of which are religious entities, as part of its ongoing effort to crack down on dissent against President Daniel Ortega, Agence-France Presse reported.

Bringing to 5,000 the number of organizations that have been shuttered in the Central American country since protests in 2018 against Ortega’s authoritarian rule, the move was the largest of its kind in a single day.

The non-profit NGOs were banned because they failed to declare their income and will duly have their assets seized, according to the government.

The list included the Nicaraguan Red Cross, rotary clubs, sports associations, and Catholic church entities.

Ortega has waged war against the Catholic church since 2018 because his government believes the protests were an attempted coup sponsored by faith organizations with the backing of the United States.

The crackdown on the protests killed 300 people, according to the United Nations, with high-profile priests denouncing human rights abuses.

Last year, some 30 religious leaders were imprisoned and sent to the Vatican. In total, nearly 250 priests, nuns, and bishops have been forced out of the country.

Vice President Rosario Murillo, who is also Ortega’s wife, called religious people “children of the devil” carrying out “spiritual terrorism.”

Monday’s decision signaled a shift because, for the first time, the government targeted evangelical groups, showing that Ortega aimed at censoring any and all opposition, the New York Times wrote.

Hundreds of Pentecostal and Baptist churches are to be shut down under the government order.

“One of the government’s biggest fears is that through religious leaders, the people of Nicaragua can have change,” Catholic activist Félix Navarrete told the newspaper.

In power since 2007, Ortega’s authoritarian regime is the target of US and European sanctions.