Hostility toward Christians in Nicaragua continues to intensify, with those who speak out against President Ortega and his government viewed as destabilising agents.

The situation has deteriorated significantly since 2018, when widespread protests broke out against the country’s dictatorial regime. Christians have been among those to raise their voice—but it’s coming at an alarming cost.

Christian leaders have been harassed and arrested, Christian properties seized, Christian schools, TV stations and charities closed, and churches monitored and intimidated. Even those who provided shelter and medical assistance during the protests in 2018 continue to suffer retribution years later. Last Easter, police banned processions during Holy Week. Recent changes to the law have been used to label church leaders as terrorists and coup-plotters, and there are suggestions that the government wants to control church affairs such as tithes and offerings.

The government’s aim is not simply to silence the voice of Christians but, given their influence in the country, to hinder their credibility and stop their message from spreading.

It should be noted that while many Christians are in the firing line, there are a minority of believers who—either out of fear or conviction—are choosing to keep quiet. Among some church communities, this is causing division—which is arguably playing further into the government’s hands.