Travelers entering Nicaragua are now prohibited from carrying Bibles, a newly enforced rule that has raised alarm among religious freedom advocates.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), warning signs posted at Tica Bus stations in Costa Rica indicate that items such as Bibles, newspapers, magazines, books, drones and cameras are forbidden for passengers, listed alongside typical contraband like sharp tools and perishable goods.
CSW reported that a staff member at Tica Bus in El Salvador confirmed the policy, stating that individuals heading to Managua are not allowed to bring “Bibles, newspapers, magazines, books of any kind, drones and cameras.”
A second employee from the company’s office in Honduras explained that these restrictions have been quietly enforced for over six months.
The measure comes amid a multiyear pattern of tightening control over civic life and religious expression in Nicaragua, where authorities have shut down thousands of independent groups and frequently targeted churches and clergy.
Since major demonstrations erupted in April 2018, the government has revoked the legal registrations of more than 5,000 civil society organizations, including over 1,300 religious bodies.
Media outlets have also been squeezed. Customs blockades on basic supplies like ink and paper forced the closure of El Nuevo Diario, once one of the nation’s leading newspapers, in 2019.
Public worship events have faced similar constraints, with religious processions allowed only when coordinated by groups deemed loyal to the state. Numerous accounts describe pastors and priests being detained without cause, monitored by police or barred from carrying out ministry activities without official approval.
Churches have been among the most outspoken critics of President Daniel Ortega’s regime. During the 2018 unrest sparked by pension reform protests, clergy members such as Palacios Vargas — a Protestant pastor who founded the La Roca de Nicaragua Church Association in Jinotepe — spoke out forcefully against police brutality.
The following year, authorities dissolved the Association altogether, part of a broader legal offensive against religious and nonprofit institutions.
The government has also leveraged financial and administrative rules to intensify pressure on NGOs. A 2018 foreign-funding law enabled officials to dismantle thousands of organizations, disproportionately affecting Catholic ministries that had sheltered anti-government demonstrators.
A 2024 CSW report, “Total Control: The Eradication of Independent Voices in Nicaragua,” identified 222 cases of religious persecution during that year alone, including forced cancellations of worship services, police surveillance, and requirements that clergy check in weekly with authorities.
The same investigation documented the detention of 46 religious leaders in 2024, with some released rapidly and others held for prolonged periods.
