Nicaragua closes Red Cross offices in latest crackdown against NGOs

The communist regime of Daniel Ortega on Wednesday decided to close down the local branch of the Red Cross, in the latest crackdown against non-profit organizations and civic groups.

Nicaragua’s National Assembly, which is under the control of Ortega’s Sandinista Party, voted unanimously to dissolve the Red Cross. As part of the move, the government will seize all of the organization’s property in the country. 

Ortega is accusing the organization of perpetrating “attacks on peace and stability” and violating political neutrality for its role in the anti-government protests in 2018 in which 355 people were killed and more than 2,000 were injured in clashes with government forces.

The Red Cross, which has been in the country since 1958, has claimed that it only provided first aid to the thousands that were injured during the confrontations. 

“The association itself transgressed the laws of the country,” the government said in a document to the legislature.

The Nicaraguan regime plans to replace the Red Cross by establishing a “new Nicaragua Red Cross” that would be a “decentralized, autonomous” entity operating under the Ministry of Health. However, it is unclear where the regime will get the funds for such an operation.

The move comes as the regime continues a widespread crackdown on NGOs and civic organizations, including the Catholic Church. An estimated 3,000 groups have been closed as part of the crackdown. Ortega has accused the groups of working with foreign interests to try to remove him from power. 

In March, the Nicaraguan government also cut off its ties with the Vatican after Pope Francis compared President Daniel Ortega’s regime to a Nazi or communist dictatorship. 

Additionally, hundreds of political opponents have been placed in jail or exiled. Last week alone, Ortega arrested 40 political opponents, charging them with conspiracy and treason.