Nicaragua bans 1,500 NGOs in latest crackdown against civil society
Al Jazeera
The move is part of a crackdown against groups viewed as hostile to President Daniel Ortega.
Nicaragua’s government has outlawed 1,500 non-governmental organisations, part of a longstanding crackdown on civil society groups viewed as hostile by President Daniel Ortega.
The move, published in the official government gazette on Monday, also involves the confiscation of assets belonging to the mostly religious groups by the state.
The Nicaraguan Red Cross and several Catholic charities are among the NGOs shuttered to date, with many hit by charges dismissed as spurious.
Other targets include rotary and chess clubs, sports associations and groupings of small traders, rural people and pensioners, as well as Catholic radio stations and universities.
“They have not fulfilled their obligations,” according to the Interior Ministry resolution published in the gazette, which claimed the groups have failed to disclose a range of financial information including donations.
