On Monday, August 12, Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship, through the Ministry of the Interior, canceled the legal status of the Diocesan Caritas Association of Matagalpa (Caritas of Matagalpa), leaving the Diocese of this province without its social assistance and financial support programs. This marks another blow by the dictatorship against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which is currently enduring persecution against priests and laypeople.
Caritas of Matagalpa was registered on March 23, 2009, with the programs Urban and Rural Financial Support (Proafur), Urban and Rural Financial Support DAD-AID, Urban and Rural Financial Support DAD-CRS, Agriculture, Soil, and Water Projects (ASA), and Livelihood Strengthening and Training in the Dry Corridor of Nicaragua (Fomvicac) being part of this organization, according to Ministerial Agreement 36-2024-OSFL, which also cancels five other non-profit organizations (NPOs/NGOs).
The cancellation agreement indicates that Caritas of Matagalpa did not submit financial statements for the 2020-2023 periods and had its board of directors expired since September 27, 2022, which has become a common justification in the more than three thousand NGO cancellations since 2018. The regime’s Ministry of the Interior first refuses to accept documentation from organizations it targets, and then later argues the alleged non-compliance of these associations.
This new cancellation of a social organization of the Catholic Church occurs in the context of a new phase of persecution against Catholic priests, which has focused on the Diocese of Matagalpa. This past weekend, a priest from Estelí and a priest and two laywomen from the Diocese of Matagalpa were detained.
In March 2023, Caritas of Nicaragua and Caritas of Jinotega were canceled due to the “voluntary dissolution of their members.” A year earlier, in February 2022, Ortega canceled Caritas of Estelí. All amid ongoing attacks against the Catholic Church since 2018.
Dictatorship Targets the Diocese of Matagalpa
The Diocese of Matagalpa has been particularly hard-hit by the religious persecution of Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship. The most emblematic case is that of the Bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, who was imprisoned for more than a year for criticizing the dictatorship’s abuses against the population. In January 2024, Álvarez was exiled along with 18 other religious figures, all from Matagalpa.
Critics have no doubt that the Ortega-Murillo regime aims to leave this department without priests, as it currently only has 13 diocesan priests left after the reduction caused by detentions and the exile of the majority. Before this period of persecution, the Diocese of Matagalpa had 51 diocesan priests.
“More than 70 percent of the priests and deacons from the Diocese of Matagalpa are outside of Nicaragua, forced to leave. The few remaining priests and other auxiliary personnel, like the deacons, who are supporting the work of the Diocese, are doing their job, but they are under siege and surveillance. Several of them have been visited by the police to threaten them,” denounced lawyer and researcher Martha Molina, who has been dedicated to documenting the persecution against the Catholic Church.
Since 2018, 151 clergy members have been forced into exile, prevented from returning to the country, deported, or directly expelled by Nicaraguan authorities.
Other Canceled NGOs by the Ministry of Interior
The other NGOs canceled this Monday are:
—Axayacat Women’s Association.
—Good Samaritan Church Foundation.
—Good Samaritan Church Foundation.
—Pentecostal Church of God Holy Spirit and Fire Association.
—Evangelistic Ministry Association Times of Change.
Nine other non-profit organizations were also canceled due to “voluntary dissolution of members” under Ministerial Agreement 37-2024-OSFL:
—Transcultural Missions of the Integral Ministry to the Nations Association.
—Municipal Chess Association of Camoapa (AMAC).
—Association for Tourism Promotion and Cultural Rescue, Momotombo León Viejo, Rigoberto Sampson (Afotur; León Viejo).
—Association for Community Health of El Rama.
—Councils Association of Christian Church “Ark of the Gospel”.
—Pranic Healing Nicaragua Association “Sanapranic”.
—Ministry of the Kingdom of God Association.
—Fundación Ligia Terán de Astorga.
—Nicaragua Initiative for an Advanced Community Association.