The Government of Nicaragua, through the Ministry of the Interior, canceled this Wednesday the legal status of another 100 NGOs, bringing the total number of organizations of this type outlawed to 1,768 after the popular revolt of April 2018, described as a coup attempt. by President Daniel Ortega.
The outlawing of these 100 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), as well as another 200, was approved directly by the Ministry of the Interior based on a recent reform to the General Law for the Regulation and Control of Non-Profit Organizations, which grants it that power, which previously belonged exclusively to the National Assembly (Parliament).
So far this year, Sandinista lawmakers and their allies in Parliament have outlawed 1,269 NGOs and a total of 1,468 since December 2018.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior has canceled the legal status of another 300 NGOs, bringing the total to 1,768, out of nearly 6,000 registered.
In the new list of NGOs affected is the Association of Retirees of Nicaragua, the Association for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights to Guarantee Life and Citizen Peace, and the Association Feed the Children.
Related news: Nicaraguan regime will cancel another 100 NGOs, will add more than 1,500 annihilations
Also the Association for the Development and Progress of the Miskito and Sumo Indigenous Communities of the Department of Jinotega; the Association of Dance Artists, the “Alejandro Guevara” Association of Artisans and Painters, the Nicaraguan War Veterans Association, and the Nicaraguan Rotarians Association for Community Development, among others.
FOR BREACH OF OBLIGATIONS
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the new 100 affected NGOs failed to comply with their obligations as established by the Law for the Regulation and Control of Non-Profit Organizations and its Regulations, and the Law Against Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Terrorism. to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Among others, indicated the Ministry of the Interior, they did not report financial statements for more than 4 to 28 years, details of donations, their origin and final beneficiary, and the Boards of Directors were headless for more than 4 to 28 years.
According to Sandinista deputy Filiberto Rodríguez, one of the promoters of the initiatives, the affected NGOs used resources from the donations they received to try to overthrow Ortega in the demonstrations that broke out in April 2018, although he has not presented evidence.
Related news: Nicaraguan Regime Cancels 100 More NGOs
In April 2018, thousands of Nicaraguans took to the streets to protest controversial social security reforms, which later became a demand for Ortega to resign because he responded with force.
The protests left at least 355 dead according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), although local organizations raise the figure to 684 and the Government recognizes 200.
Nicaragua has been going through a political and social crisis since April 2018, which has been accentuated after the controversial general elections on November 7, in which Ortega was re-elected for a fifth term, fourth consecutive and second along with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as vice president, with her main contenders in prison.
Ortega, close to turning 77, has been in power for 15 years and 7 consecutive months, amid allegations of authoritarianism and electoral fraud.
