Nicaragua: A Dream They Couldn’t Steal: Former UCA Students Graduate
Students from the confiscated UCA graduate from Jesuit universities in El Salvador and Guatemala, achieving their academic goal of earning a degree from a prestigious UCA.
HAVANA TIMES – “I feel happy because I’m finally about to graduate and get my degree,” says Mariana, a former student of the Central American University (UCA), which has now been closed and confiscated for two years by order of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. In early November 2025, this young woman will earn her bachelor’s degree in Psychology after taking online classes at the Jesuit Rafael Landívar University (URL) in Guatemala.
Mariana only needed one class and her thesis to finish her studies at the UCA when the dictatorship shut it down on August 16, 2023.
“After they stole the UCA, I never thought (my graduation) would happen so soon. At one point, I even planned to start my degree all over again,” she recalls.
After the abrupt closure of the UCA in Nicaragua, the “José Simeón Cañas” Central American University (UCA) in El Salvador and Rafael Landívar University (URL) in Guatemala—both Jesuit institutions—offered students the opportunity to continue their studies, on the condition that they complete at least one year there. The graduation ceremonies took place in El Salvador at the end of October 2025, and in Guatemala during the first days of November.
At first, the Psychology program was offered only in person, so Mariana couldn’t begin her studies until July 2024.
The hardest part, she says, was the lost time. “It’s been a setback—having to retake classes and even write a new thesis, although this time I did a systematic review, which is a completely different format,” she explains.
She admits that many of her classmates already had professional plans for 2023, when they were supposed to graduate. Still, she insists she’s happy to be graduating from a Jesuit university that shares “the same ideals and values” as the UCA in Nicaragua.
She Had to Work While Continuing Her Studies
Mariana describes continuing her education as “a major challenge.” Monday through Friday she works in the Human Resources department of a manufacturing company. On Saturdays she attended online classes from the Guatemalan university. “I ended up exhausted because I hardly had any time to rest,” she says.
She was able to continue studying thanks to a scholarship. “The costs were minimal,” she explains.
Although she’d like to specialize in labor law and continue her professional growth, for now she finds it difficult to study—at least in Nicaragua. “I’m the support of my family; I live only with my mother, so for now I’m not planning to go for a master’s degree,” she adds.
“I Won’t Be Able to Go to My Graduation”
Although Mariana would love to attend her graduation ceremony, she says she won’t be able to, even though she’d love to. “First, because I’m working, and second, because I’m afraid they won’t let me return to Nicaragua,” she says.
Mariana is referring to the forced exile with which the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship selectively punishes thousands of Nicaraguans. For that reason, she notes, many students taking online classes won’t attend their ceremonies out of fear.
“The university is helping us by taking care of all the paperwork remotely,” she adds.
Six Out of Ten Chose Other Jesuit Universities
A CONFIDENCIAL report published in August 2024, one year after the UCA’s confiscation, revealed that data from the José Simeón Cañas Central American University in El Salvador and Rafael Landívar University in Guatemala showed that of the 5,000 students enrolled at the time of the UCA’s closure, 2,301 applied to other Jesuit universities in Central America—six out of every ten students.
At least 600 Nicaraguan students continued their degrees in the universities of El Salvador and Guatemala.
In 2025, the UCA, founded in Nicaragua by the Society of Jesus in 1960, would have celebrated 65 years of educational work, having trained several generations of professionals.
“They wiped out a university of great national importance, one that fostered critical thinking, civic awareness, and contributed to dialogue and scientific research,” said the late Father Jose Maria Tojeira, spokesperson for the Society of Jesus in Nicaragua, in his final interview with CONFIDENCIAL.
“It Was Like Coming Back to Life”
When the UCA was shut down, Cristina’s world collapsed. She enrolled for one semester at the Catholic University of Nicaragua, but although “it didn’t feel like home,” she thought “it was the only option” to graduate.
So when she learned about the possibility of studying at a Jesuit university, she signed up immediately. “It was like coming back to life; I didn’t think twice,” she says.
Cristina began studying fully online at Rafael Landívar University (URL). “I admit it was a challenge, because spending an entire day in class from seven in the morning to four in the afternoon, in front of a screen with little interaction among classmates, eventually became exhausting,” she describes.
What made it harder to finish her studies remotely, she says, was that she missed in-person classes and knew that many of her classmates “with whom I shared time” had transferred to El Salvador.
“I’d Leave Nicaragua Despite the Fear”
For Cristina, the two years it took her to finally earn her degree were also years of personal growth. “I had to retake only a few courses, and they helped reinforce knowledge that was starting to fade (…) I feel that each professor contributed something new and significant,” she says.
She won’t travel to Guatemala, as she has little time to plan and fears not being able to return. “That makes me sad,” she admits.
Cristina now works as a human talent analyst for a well-known industrial company in Nicaragua. She hopes to continue specializing “in training programs for developing new talent, with the goal of creating a consulting firm in the future.”
Regarding the possibility of staying in Nicaragua, she says she’s “open to opportunities.”
“If at some point I can migrate to another country, I’d go, despite the fear and the challenges it might bring,” she concludes.
“They Couldn’t Steal My Dream”
“Finishing my Marketing degree will be impossible,” thought Kevin when the sudden closure of the UCA was announced. He even considered continuing at the Casimiro Sotelo Montenegro National University (UNCSM), controlled by the Sandinista regime and operating in the facilities confiscated from the UCA.
“To me it was a nightmare, but I had no other choice when they announced the final closure of the UCA,” he recalls.
However, when the opportunity arose to continue studying—even remotely—he didn’t hesitate. Kevin is now about to finish his degree at the Jesuit Rafael Landívar University in Guatemala.
For this young man, originally from a rural community in Nicaragua, it’s a major achievement because it’s been “incredibly hard” to become a professional. First, in April 2022, he lost his scholarship when the regime expelled the UCA from the National Council of Universities (CNU). That decision stripped the Jesuit university of its constitutional six-percent funding, which had provided hundreds of scholarships.
“At that point, I had to take fewer classes and find a job to pay for them,” Kevin explains.
Today he believes all those obstacles have motivated him to keep fighting to become the first professional in his family. “I’m proud of my values and that they couldn’t steal my dream of earning a degree from a prestigious Jesuit university,” he says.
An Uncertain but Hopeful Future
Kevin still doesn’t know what his professional future will hold. For now, he’s working in his field but hopes to continue growing.
“I’d love to study at a university in Argentina or Spain, but for now I need to gain experience and save money,” he says.
He won’t attend his graduation and will avoid posting about his academic achievement on social media, he believes it’s safer to remain quiet.
“I’ve seen some of my former classmates post that they graduated from Casimiro Sotelo University and celebrate it, but there’s sadness in their words. I feel what they made us go through isn’t fair,” he laments.
Still, Kevin holds out hope that one day the UCA will reopen, and its degrees will regain “the recognition they deserve.”
Graduated in El Salvador, But Will Return to Nicaragua
Cecilia recently graduated from the UCA in El Salvador, where she went to live after being offered a scholarship to continue her studies. She’ll stay there for a while longer but wants to return to Nicaragua as soon as possible.
When the UCA was confiscated, she was less than a year away from finishing her degree in Psychology.
“When they told us there was an opportunity to study at a Jesuit university, I was happy, but I was also very afraid when I found out it was only offered in person,” she says.
Now, Cecilia believes she made the right decision to leave the country. “What matters is that I have my degree, and I hope to start practicing soon,” she insists.
However, her biggest fear now is that the Sandinista regime won’t let her return. “I’m afraid of being unable to go back to my country,” she confesses.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.