Sacred spaces and guarded citizens: Religion under control in Nicaragua
Since 2018, Ortega and Murillo have exercised strict control over the Catholic Church in response to ecclesiastical support for peaceful protests against the regime. The annual report "Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church" documents 1,010 acts of persecution between April 2018 and July 2025.
A woman prays at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua (File).
The regime of Daniel Ortega and his wife and co-president Rosario Murillo prohibited this year 406 Stations of the Cross processions during the first Friday of Lent, reported newspaper La Prensa. Authorities in Nicaragua ordered that all celebrations be held only inside temples, restricting the participation of the faithful in the streets.
Researcher and activist Martha Patricia Molina denounced in a Facebook post that "Jesus on the Cross remains confined to the walls of every parish. The dictatorship fears that the laity and the images will go out into the streets to pray and fulfill their promises."
A systematic persecution of the church
Since 2018, Ortega and Murillo have exercised strict control over the Catholic Church in response to ecclesiastical support for peaceful protests against the regime. The annual report "Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church," prepared by Molina and his team and presented in October 2025 to Pope Leo XIV, documents 1,010 acts of persecution between April 2018 and July 2025. These include:
- Detentions, tortures and expulsions of church members.
- Confiscation of ecclesiastical property and attacks on temples.
- Banning of processions and religious activities in public spaces.
- Closure of Catholic universities, radio stations and television channels.
In January 2026, priest Jose Concepcion Reyes Mairena, of the Diocese of Leon, was expelled from the country after being arrested and interrogated by immigration authorities, according to ACI Prensa reported. With his case, that brings to 309 the number of Catholic Church members expelled by the regime.
Recent restrictions and appeals to the community
In addition to limiting processions, the regime has prohibited door-to-door evangelization activities in Leon and Chinandega (January 2026) and has prevented the entry of Bibles into the country, as reported by La Prensa in December 2025.
Molina called on the faithful and the entire community to "not abandon their pastors, document the attacks, stay alert and avoid exposing themselves to uniformed or plainclothes police who come to the churches."
These measures paint a picture of increasing restrictions on religious and community life in Nicaragua, affecting not only priests and church leaders, but also people seeking to practice their faith openly and safely.
LATEST
