Nicaragua Outlaws 1.5K NGOs

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Facts

• On Monday, Nicaragua's government banned 1.5K non-governmental organizations for allegedly 'not fulfilling their obligations' in reporting their finances.^[1]
• These obligations include submitting their income and expense statements per fiscal period and disclosing their donations as well as boards of directors' details.^[2]
• The majority of the outlawed entities are evangelical religious groups. Others include sports associations, educational institutions, and legal organizations.^[3]
• In canceling the legal status of these organizations, Nicaragua's interior ministry said their assets would be confiscated and transferred to the state.^[4]
• The announcement comes days after authorities announced a new regulation mandating NGOs to collaborate directly with state entities through 'association alliances' to carry out their initiatives.^[5]
• Since anti-government protests erupted in 2018, Pres. Daniel Ortega has reportedly shuttered over 5K civil society groups and jailed opposition figures viewed as hostile to him.^[6]

Sources: ^[1]Al Jazeera, ^[2]Vatican News, ^[3]Havana Times, ^[4]Reuters, ^[5]Jpmas and ^[6]France 24.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New York Times and www.euractiv.com. This is part of Nicaragua's autocratic government's effort to suppress people who draw the world's attention to human rights abuses in the Central American country. Ortega has engaged in increasingly repressive actions — including using terrorism and money laundering laws to crack down on nonprofit organizations — against journalists, intellectuals, and activists to quell dissent. He must be held accountable for the persecution of all forms of opposition, whether political or religious.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Jpmas and XINHUA. The Nicaraguan government is committed to ensuring that NGOs follow state laws and contribute to the country's development in an orderly manner. Those outlawed are US-backed agents who carry out spiritual terrorism, obstructing the interior ministry's oversight. A crackdown against civil society organizations — which receive money from foreign countries to destabilize the country — is necessary to safeguard Nicaragua's sovereignty from neofascist and neocolonial governments.

Predictions