The Irish Catholic Bishops’ charity Trócaire has been forced to end its operations in Nicaragua after its registration to work and provide supports in the central American nation was cancelled by the state.
The crackdown by local authorities has hit both NGOs and religious groups such as Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity who were expelled from the country on July 6th.
After more than three decades working in Latin America’s second-poorest country, a spokeswoman for the Irish Catholic Church’s overseas development agency confirmed that Trócaire is one of “several hundred NGOs that have had to cease operations in Nicaragua due to the cancellation of our registration by the state of Nicaragua”.
The charity, which began running aid programmes in Nicaragua in the 1970s and opened a full-time country office in 2002, supported more than 51,000 people in need last year, said the spokeswoman. “We are deeply disappointed that we can no longer deliver vital humanitarian assistance to communities we have worked with for over 30 years.”
