Christians faith in Nicaragua is subjected to relentless targeting

Christians in Nicaragua are increasingly finding their voices stifled by the Ortega-Murillo regime, which actively works to discredit those who speak out against injustice. Catholics have particularly endured ongoing threats, censorship, imprisonment, physical violence, and forced exile.

President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, have significantly intensified their surveillance and tactics aimed at Christians and church property, seeking to intimidate and stifle those viewed as threats to their power.

The publication ‘Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church’ by exiled Nicaraguan lawyer Martha Patricia Molina highlights the real reason for the mere 32 reported attacks on the Catholic Church in 2025. Molina’s seventh report in Spanish shows that since April 2018, the Church has suffered 1,010 acts of aggression and over 16,500 religious activities and processions have been banned.

She explains the government’s increased harassment and intimidation via ‘confiscations, frozen bank accounts, punitive taxation, and relentless propaganda.’ Since 2018, the Catholic Church has been increasingly targeted by the Ortega-Murillo regime, primarily when churches provide.

According to Molina, 302 clergy and religious people have either been sent away, barred from returning to their country, or have escaped. Although she noted that many cases go unreported, she suggested the number could be higher. Along with ongoing cases of detentions and disappearances, church leaders are involved, and there is further suppression of Catholic media to restrict their voice, Dr. During the last week of August, Carlos Cárdenas Zepeda, a lawyer and Roman Catholic lay leader, became the second political prisoner to die in state custody, following political activist Mauricio Alonso Prieto.

The families were informed of their deaths but not given details about the cause or circumstances. Evidence shows that the government is both covering up abuse and failing to hold those responsible for human rights violations accountable.

A report named “Total Control: The Eradication of Independent Voices in Nicaragua” documented earlier this year that 2024 saw 222 cases of violations of religious freedom affecting thousands, with CSW also reporting multiple restrictions on religious activities.

Weekly reporting to the police and sharing service details are among the requirements for religious leaders, who also face numerous restrictions on church activities. Despite restrictions, the Catholic faithful still go to Mass, filling their churches during Holy Week, the patron saint’s feast day, and on Sundays.

Christians continue to stand firm in their faith, speaking out against the injustices in Nicaragua, despite the dangers, while maintaining a significant influence and striving for peace in the country. They deserve support from the international community and prayers for continued encouragement and strength. Their resilience

Source :-  ukchristian.news