MEXICO CITY — Nicaragua’s authorities on Wednesday declared the Jesuit non secular order unlawful and ordered the confiscation of all its property.

The transfer comes one week after the federal government of President Daniel Ortega confiscated the Jesuit-run University of Central America in Nicaragua, arguing it was a “center of terrorism.”

The confiscation order printed Wednesday claimed the Roman Catholic order had didn't adjust to tax reporting.

It was the newest in a sequence of more and more authoritarian actions by the Nicaraguan authorities towards the Catholic Church and opposition figures. The Jesuit order, often known as the Society of Jesus, has condemned the measures.

The University of Central America in Nicaragua was a hub for 2018 protests towards the Ortega regime.

After final week’s announcement, the Society of Jesus of Central America stated in an announcement that “This is a government policy that systematically violates human rights and appears to be aimed at consolidating a totalitarian state.”

Since December 2021, not less than 26 Nicaraguan universities have been closed and their property seized by order of the Ortega authorities with the same process. Seven of these have been overseas establishments.

In April, the Vatican closed its embassy in Nicaragua after the nation’s authorities proposed suspending diplomatic relations.

Two congregations of nuns, together with from the Missionaries of Charity order based by Mother Teresa, have been expelled from Nicaragua final 12 months.

The expulsions, closures and confiscations haven't simply focused the church. Nicaragua has outlawed or closed greater than 3,000 civic teams and non-governmental organizations.

In May, the federal government ordered the Nicaraguan Red Cross shut down, accusing it of “attacks on peace and stability” throughout anti-government demonstrations in 2018. The native Red Cross says it simply helped deal with injured protesters throughout the protests.

In June, the federal government confiscated properties belonging to 222 opposition figures who have been pressured into exile in February after being imprisoned by Ortega’s regime.

Those taken from jail and compelled aboard a flight to the United States on Feb. 9 included seven presidential hopefuls barred from operating within the 2021 election, attorneys, rights activists, journalists and former members of the Sandinista guerrilla motion.

Thousands have fled into exile since Nicaraguan safety forces violently put down mass anti-government protests in 2018. Ortega says the protests have been an tried coup with overseas backing, aiming for his overthrow.

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