MANAGUA.- The regime of Daniel Ortega The US stepped up its offensive against the Catholic Church and civil society by cancelling the legal status of 12 other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on Tuesday, including Radio María Nicaragua. This Catholic radio station is one of the few of its kind in the Central American country.
According to the official newspaper La Gaceta, the Ministry of the Interior took this measure alleging that the Radio María Association did not present its financial statements for the period 2019-2023 and that its board of directors expired in November 2021.
The cancellation follows a complaint from the station’s coordinator in Managua, Roger Munguía, who reported in April that Radio María’s bank accounts had been blocked, thus preventing it from receiving donations from its listeners.
The Nicaraguan Attorney General’s Office will now proceed to transfer the movable and immovable assets of the affected NGOs to the State, according to a report by the newspaper La Prensa. Most of these organizations are religious in nature.
This action is seen by the political opposition and various human rights organizations as a continuation of the repressive campaign that the Ortega regime began after the anti-government protests of 2018. Since then, the repression has reached independent media, activists and religious leaders, who have been subject to persecution and harassment.
The opposition claims that by April 3,494 NGOs and 29 universities had been closed in an attempt by the regime to silence critical voices and consolidate its power.
Source: With information from Europa Press
