The Nicaraguan government has announced the cancellation of legal status for 15 new non-governmental organizations (NGOs), bringing the total number of banned organizations in the country to over 3,600 since December 2018. The Minister of the Interior, María Amelia Coronel, approved the dissolution of these groups in Managua. According to the Ministry of the Interior, nine NGOs were closed for not complying with regulations, while six others requested voluntary dissolution. Among those canceled were the National Chamber of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, the Association of Small Hotel Owners of Nicaragua, the Association of Airlines and evangelical Christian entities.
The liquidation of these assets will be overseen by the Attorney General’s Office. However, only those organizations that requested voluntary dissolution will have their assets returned to them. This closure is a continuation of a regularization process initiated by the regime following protests against it that began in April 2018.
Some politicians supporting the dictatorship accused these NGOs of using resources to try and overthrow Ortega during demonstrations. The regime claims that this illegalization is part of a regularization process as not all registered NGOs in 2018 were operational. Nicaragua has been in political and social crisis since April 2018 with tensions escalating after controversial elections in November 2021 where Ortega claimed victory for a fifth term.