This report details deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Nicaragua during the first half of 2022. In March, the government expelled the papal nuncio, the Vatican’s chief diplomat in the country, for unexplained reasons. Most recently, a judge sentenced a priest to over four years in prison on spurious charges and the authorities arrested another on suspicious reasoning. Additionally, the government has heightened its repression of Catholic-affiliated organizations by shutting down charities and expelling their workers, stripping universities of funding and legal status, shutting down news media and radio stations, and eliminating non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The report also highlights recent U.S. policy efforts to advance democracy and human rights in the country.

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