IACHR hears religious freedom complaints in Nicaragua
Organizations say 1,341 religious entities have been shut down since 2018; Daniel Ortega's government sent no representatives to the hearing.
More than 1,300 religious orders outlawed and dozens of properties confiscated: that is what civil organizations reported at an IACHR hearing in Panama on religious freedom in Nicaragua, according to the Costa Rican newspaper La Nación.
The figures the organizations presented
Katy Lechado, head of the Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más, an organization that works from exile in Costa Rica, said at the hearing that at least 1,341 religious organizations have been shut down since 2018. Most are evangelical; the list includes 132 Catholic, three Jewish, two Muslim and one Hindu organization.
Marylaura Acuña, of the Center for Justice and International Law (Cejil), explained that these entities had their legal status revoked and that many lost their property. She also reported arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances of religious leaders.
«The faith of a congregation does not depend on an official registry validating it»
Lechado added that more than 40 properties belonging to the Catholic Church and lay organizations have been seized, and estimated that about half of them are occupied by state entities.
Ralón: religious freedom does not depend on those in power
Stuardo Ralón, president of the IACHR, said during the session that religious freedom "is not a concession of political power," but a right. No one, he said, should be persecuted for their beliefs.
Nicaragua's government did not send representatives to the hearing. Regarding the 2018 protests, which the UN says left about 300 dead, it has maintained that they were an attempted coup.
In the years that followed, thousands of Nicaraguans went into exile and the opposition was left with almost no room to operate. A recent reform bans parties opposed to the government from taking part in elections, and some opposition figures have been stripped of their citizenship.
The Dominican priest Rafael Aragón, 78 and living in exile in Costa Rica, told the AFP news agency that the government leaves no room for anyone to lead.
A church that prays and accompanies
The numbers describe pressure on institutions, but behind every canceled legal registration there are real congregations: people who gather, sing and support their neighbors. For them, Scripture has a clear word: "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12, ESV).
That text is not a call for revenge. It is a reminder that faithfulness has a cost and that no political structure defines the worth of a church. The faith of a congregation does not depend on an official registry validating it, even though the paperwork matters in day-to-day life.
What can you do from your city? Pray for the churches of Nicaragua by name, if you know any. Ask in your congregation whether it already supports work there, and join in. And check a fact before sharing it, especially when it is circulating on social media and stirring up anger.
The story does not end at a hearing or a decree. It ends in Christ, who promised to be with his people always, to the end of the age (see Matthew 28:20). In the meantime, your prayers and your help sustain brothers and sisters who gather today with both fear and hope.
