After the steamroller of deputies at the service of Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship outlawed 25 non-profit organizations, the reactions of opponents and critics of the Nicaraguan regime were immediate, to the point of describing the “last of accounts» to non-governmental entities.
“Absurd, absurd, absurd! It is not the NGOs that are harmed, but the thousands of people they helped,” said the opposition Bertha Valleywife of former presidential candidate and political prisoner Félix Maradiaga.
“The regime is destroying Nicaragua! Can you imagine what will become of the children who are patients of Operation Smile?” Valle stressed in reference to the Operation Smile Association of Nicaragua, one of the 25 organizations canceled this Thursday with 74 votes in favor, 16 abstentions and one present. .
For her part, the Nicaraguan sociologist Elvira Cuadra, exiled in Costa Rica, lamented through her Twitter account that some of the annulled organizations were “merely philanthropic, such as Operación Sonrisa, which will stop caring for minors with cleft palates. Complete cruelty.”
In addition, he recalled that adding these 25, there are already more than 100 NGOs from whom the dictatorship takes away their legal personality, arguing that in most cases the NGOs had not complied with the annual report or that they did not submit to the Law of Foreign Agents, approved in 2020, in order to supervise all the movements of the organizations.
The international Race and Equality Institute joined in the widespread condemnation of non-profit associations. The organization emphasized that “we are deeply concerned about the repeated violations of freedom of association.”
Related news: Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship “dismantles” 25 NGOs
In turn, they urged the Nicaraguan regime to end the repression and annul its repressive laws. “Once again we call on the State to repeal the laws that restrict civic and democratic space, such as the Law on Foreign Agents and the Law against Money Laundering.”
For the independent journalist Wilfredo Miranda, it is outrageous that they have canceled organizations that provided support to people with limited resources.
“Operation Smile is outrageous, a non-political medical NGO that operates on some 560 infants a year with some kind of malformation in the mouth. Annually, in Nicaragua between 600 and 700 children are born with a cleft palate or cleft lip,” said the communicator.
Related news: Women, indigenous people and children are the most affected by the closure of NGOs
The outrage was widespread. A citizen, identified as Ale, criticized that Daniel Ortega is ending one by one “with each organization that still ensures the physical and legal security of women here in Nicaragua.”
«The little justice that can be done in this country, goes away with each closed NGO. They are great hypocrites —the Ortega regime—, “by the people for the people.” Wow”, criticized the user.
Ortega wants to bury NGO
With these new bans, there are already 140 non-profit associations canceled since 2007. In 2018, the dictatorship canceled 99 NGOs, after the social outbreak, and in 2022 it attacked universities.
This same day it became known that the Nicaraguan dictatorship canceled four other foreign non-profit organizations, which are Green Clinic, originally from the United States, registered since May 15, 2008 under the perpetual number 4117, the Development Cooperation Fund (FOS) of Belgium, registered since November 8, 1999, under the perpetual number 1473.
It was also outlawed Catholic Agency for International Development (CAFOD), Originally from the United Kingdom, registered since October 2, 2006 under the perpetual number 3481 and the International Christian Service for Peace (EIRENE), originally from Germany, registered since November 21, 2002, under the perpetual number 2382.
Despite the fact that on January 10, during the inauguration of the fourth consecutive presidential term, Daniel Ortega used his well-known phrase “clean slate” he continues to “annihilate” everything that does not share his interests.
