New List of 100 National & Foreign Non-profits Closed in Nicaragua

The Ortega regime’s crusade against organized civil society, intensified this year. Since 2018, a total of 2,381 NGOs lost their legal status.

By Confidencial

HAVANA TIMES – The Ministry of the Interior (Migob) canceled another hundred NGOs: 49 nationals and 51 foreigners, accused of failing to comply with Nicaraguan legislation. With these latest annulments, the Ortega regime has stripped 2,381 organizations of their legal status since December 2018 to date.

The foreign NGOs eliminated through an administrative resolution, published this Wednesday, October 12 in La Gaceta, are from 17 countries: Germany, Austria, Costa Rica, Spain, France, the United States, Italy, Guatemala, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Canada, Holland, Norway, England, Panama, Denmark, and Belgium.

According to the Migob, these organizations were not registered as foreign agents, nor did they report for more than five to thirty years their boards of directors from the country of origin, update of the power of attorney of the legal representative and financial statements according to fiscal periods, with detailed breakdowns of income and expenses. For these reasons, their records and assigned perpetual numbers were closed.

In total, the regime has eliminated 161 NGOs of foreign origin between August 2021 and October 2022. Among the last closed are Nica Aid, originally from Canada; Mercy Ships, from the United States; Austrian Institute for North-South Cooperation; Association Medecins Du Monde, from France; Danish Association of the Disabled, of Denmark and others. See the full list here.

A CONFIDENCIAL monitoring shows that the regime has closed environmental, educational, children’s rights, human rights, women’s, adolescents, indigenous rights, religious, culture, entrepreneurship, democracy, charity, and health non-profit groups, regardless of the impact this has on its beneficiaries.

Dismantling of civil society

The Ortega regime’s crusade against organized civil society, intensified this year, with the closure of 2,307 NGOs, affecting more than a million Nicaraguans who benefited from various social programs, revealed an investigation by the Inter-American Dialogue.

The government justifies the closure of foundations, organizations and associations for alleged non-compliance with the country’s legislation. In the Mingob order published on October 12 in La Gaceta, the closure of 49 national organizations is ordered, the ministry accuses them of being “abandoned” and “having between 7 and 32 years of non-compliance with their obligations under the laws that regulate them”. However, the Inter-American Dialogue investigation found that 53% of the universe of 1,000 NGOs they analyzed were carrying out projects that remained unfinished.

In addition, several former directors of other closed Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) indicated that they faced obstacles in complying with legal requirements and even after removing their legal status, they struggle with the General Directorate of Revenue (DGI) to close according to the law and avoid future retaliation.

Among the NGOs closed this Tuesday are the Josefino Pastoral Service Association, the Discovery Investigation Center Foundation, the Christian Ministry Association, the Association of Veterinary Doctors of Nicaragua, the Association of United Farm Producers, the Christian Diffusion Chain Association, and others. See full list.

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