The government especially targets Catholics and in some dioceses, the ordination of priests and deacons are banned.
By Catholics or Catholics
Nicaragua continued in 2025 to be a country that repressed religious beliefs, especially against Christians, according to a report by the Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
The report by U.K.-based Christian Solidarity says that in 2025, 309 separate violations of religious freedom or belief were found in Nicaragua. Out of 309 cases, 200 involved Catholics and 108 Protestant Christians, according to a story by The Christian Post.
In addition, Nicaraguan Co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo enforced “precautionary measures” on 36 religious leaders in 2025, more than triple the number documented the year before, the report showed. Religious leaders were obligated to report weekly in person to local police stations, reveal their planned activities and get authorization before leaving their areas.
The report indicated that government officials and their proxies carried out threats and harassment in 228 of the 309 cases. Some of the bullies included pro-government activists and paramilitaries.
In 2025, three Catholic organizations were stripped of their legal status, bringing the amassed total of organizations made illegal to upwards of 5,600, according to CSW.
Specially targeted were religious orders. According to The Post, 30 nuns from three religious orders based in Managua, Chinandega and Matagalpa departments were forced to leave Nicaragua on Jan. 28. In December, eight women from the Capuchin Tertiary Religious Sisters of the Holy Family in the Madriz Department were ordered out immediately and taken to the El Espino border crossing with Honduras.
According to the report, the wave of repression against Catholicism goes even further: The government has also banned the ordination of new Catholic priests and deacons in the dioceses of Jinotega, Siuna, Matagalpa and Estelí. Local leaders say police are stopping any outside bishop from performing ordinations in those dioceses.
An estimated 70% of clergy in Matagalpa have been forced into exile. Researcher Martha Patricia Molina, author of the research report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” has previously termed ordination efforts a “liturgical oasis” in the desert of repression.
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