According to recent reports on religious freedom under President Daniel Ortega’s government in Nicaragua, tourists are no longer permitted to bring Bibles into the country.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a U.K.-based advocacy group, reported this month that notices at Tica Bus terminals in Costa Rica — which run routes to Nicaragua’s capital, Managua — warn travelers that magazines, newspapers, cameras, and books, including Bibles, are banned from entry.
CSW Director of Advocacy and Americas Team Leader Anna Lee Stangl urged the Nicaraguan government to change course.
Other banned items include knives, perishable foods and drones.
The move follows an intensifying crackdown on religious and civil society groups. This spring, Nicaragua exited the U.N. Human Rights Council after facing international outrage over what critics said was a systematic campaign against human rights, democratic institutions, and religious communities, according to International Christian Concern.
Christian churches — particularly the Catholic Church — have been among the few institutions to openly challenge the Ortega government, especially during and after the mass protests of 2018. Clergy offered refuge to demonstrators and urged dialogue, actions that later resulted in arrests, expulsions, and increased surveillance.
Nicaragua withdrew from the U.N. Human Rights Council in February, just days after a panel of U.N. experts issued a sharply critical report accusing the government of a systematic crackdown on human rights, democratic institutions, and religious groups.