Nicaragua shuts down 151 more NGOs, including US Chamber of Commerce affiliate

By Nuri Aydin

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Nicaragua has shuttered an additional 151 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the local affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, as part of an ongoing crackdown by President Daniel Ortega’s government.

The decision, announced by the Interior Ministry on Aug. 20, follows the revocation of the legal status of over 1,500 NGOs earlier this year. Most of the organizations affected in this latest round of closures are religious groups.

Ortega has intensified his campaign against NGOs since the mass street protests of 2018, accusing them of using foreign funds to undermine his government and attempting to remove him from power.

Among the NGOs shut down by the recent decree are the National Farmers and Ranchers Association, along with various chambers of commerce from countries including Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay.

Since the beginning of Ortega's crackdown, more than 5,000 civil society organizations have been forced to close their doors.

- Rising tensions between Brazil, Nicaragua

Tensions between Nicaragua and Brazil have escalated following an attempt by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to mediate the release of detained Catholic bishops in Nicaragua.

According to a report by the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Lula da Silva revealed that Pope Francis had asked him to speak with President Ortega about the matter, but Ortega refused to take his calls. "Ortega did not answer my calls and did not want to talk to me. So I never spoke to him again," Lula was quoted as saying.

The diplomatic rift deepened on Aug. 9 when Brazil responded to Nicaragua's expulsion of its ambassador by expelling Nicaraguan Ambassador Fulvia Patricia Castro in retaliation. This move marks a significant deterioration in relations between the two countries.