MANAGUA, Nicaragua (ChurchMilitant.com) – The Nicaraguan government is banning the Jesuits and seizing all of the society’s assets.
Daniel Ortega
On Wednesday, the Sandinista regime, led by President Daniel Ortega, banned the Society of Jesus and dictated the confiscation of all the religious order’s assets.
The ostensible reason for the ban is the regime’s claim the order failed to comply with tax reporting. Specifically, the Nicaraguan Interior Ministry alleged the Jesuits lacked proper oversight for a non-governmental group and failed to report tax information from 2020 to 2022.
The ban comes one week after the regime’s expulsion of some Jesuit priests from their residence, along with the confiscation of the Jesuit’s Central American University, which Nicaraguan authorities labeled a “center of terrorism.”
The Jesuits Respond
On Thursday, the Central American Province of the Society of Jesus released a response titled “The Unjustified Aggression Against the Jesuits Continues in a Context of Total Defenselessness and Terrorization of the Nicaraguan Population.”
Regarding the Sandinista regime’s confiscation of assets, the response stated, “The decision was made without evidence that the administrative procedures established by law had been carried out.”
“As has happened in most of the more than three thousand similar cases … carried out by the regime since 2018,” the statement continued, “this agreement was carried out neither giving the Jesuits an opportunity for legitimate defense nor engaging in an impartial judicial process to judge and stop these arbitrary abuses of authority.”
The statement further established a combined list of six calls to action and acknowledgments, asserting that the CAPSJ
“Condemns this new aggression against the Jesuits of Nicaragua”
“Confirms that all this is aimed at the full establishment of a totalitarian regime”
“Holds the current President and Vice-President of Nicaragua responsible for, at the very least, condoning these events”
“Asks the President and Vice-President with immediate effect to
Cease the repression
Accept the search for a rational solution
Respect the freedom and total integrity of the Jesuits”
“Unites with the thousands of Nicaraguan victims who are waiting for justice and reparations,” and
“Is grateful for the countless signs of recognition, support and solidarity it has received.”
Targets Beyond the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church has voiced concerns over human rights, election integrity and the suppression of opposition under Daniel Ortega, who has yielded intervallic power since the Sandinista revolution in 1979.
At times, the Church has further played a role in organizing and supporting protests, including the provision of sanctuary to protesters.
The tension has caused Ortega’s regime to ramp up hostilities against the Church, with the Jesuits being the most recent example.
But the Nicaraguan government has not limited itself to cracking down exclusively on the Catholic Church. It has closed or outlawed more than 3,000 non-governmental groups and civic organizations.
Most recently, in May, the regime closed the Nicaraguan Red Cross for its role in the 2018 demonstrations against the government — protests that the government quashed violently. Though accused of attacking peace and stability, the Red Cross insisted it was only treating injured protesters at the time.
In June, 222 opposition figures were forced into exile after they had been imprisoned and their properties confiscated. Among those forced aboard a flight to the United States were lawyers, journalists and presidential hopefuls.