At least 1,500 organisations, including many of a religious nature, have been banned in Nicaragua, bringing the total number of such groups expelled from the country to over 5,000.

The latest wave of banned entities, most of them religious, have been accused of failing to declare their income, according to a government notice.

Since the protests against President Daniel Ortega's regime in 2018, which were met with a harsh crackdown resulting in over 300 deaths according to the UN, the government has imprisoned hundreds of critics, both real and perceived. Ortega has characterised these protests as an attempted coup d’état, allegedly orchestrated by the United States and supported by religious communities.

Recently, the government enacted a regulation requiring NGOs to work exclusively in "partnership alliances" with state entities. The Nicaraguan Red Cross and several Catholic charities are among the NGOs that have been shut down, with many of the charges against them dismissed by observers.

Ortega’s wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, has previously described religious individuals as “children of the devil” or “agents of evil” engaged in “spiritual terrorism.”

Last week, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called for an end to the “repression” in Nicaragua and the immediate release of those detained. In a statement, it expressed concern “over the persistent repression in Nicaragua, characterised by religious persecution, the continuation of arbitrary detentions, and the serious conditions in which those in prison remain.”