Nicaragua shutters US Chamber of Commerce, 150 other organizations
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Nicaragua's government attributes its decision to the organization's failure to properly submit financial statements.
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Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega poses for a photo during the ALBA summit at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, Cuba on December 14, 2021.(AP)
Nicaragua's government closed another 151 nongovernmental organizations on Thursday, including some of the most important trade organizations, such as the American Chamber of Commerce, just days after closing approximately 1,500 nongovernmental organizations, many of which were religious in nature.
The Interior Ministry also revoked the legal registration of the umbrella association representing European chambers of business in Nicaragua.
The Nicaraguan government justified its decision by citing the organization's failure to properly submit financial statements.
The US Chamber, known locally as AMCHAM, has been in Nicaragua for 47 years. The United States condemned what it described as the "unjust" closures Thursday, according to a tweet by the State Department's assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, Brian Nichols.
The relationship between the United States and Nicaragua has been tense for years, yet business has persisted.
Other groups dissolved by the decree included the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers, as well as chambers of commerce from Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay.
Since 2018 US-backed mass protests aimed against him, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega has targeted nongovernmental groups, accusing groups receiving foreign funding of participating in what he views as an attempt to overthrow him. To date, his administration has shut down more than 5,000 organizations.
On Monday, Ortega ordered the closure of an additional 1,500 organizations, primarily religious groups, including churches, days after the country passed a regulation requiring non-governmental organizations to work exclusively in "partnership alliances" with state entities.
In 2022, Ortega banned US envoy Hugo Rodriguez from entering Nicaragua on account of his "interfering" behavior. Although Nicaragua already stated that any such visit would be barred in July, the US Senate still confirmed Rodriguez's appointment on Thursday.
After he was inaugurated in 2022, Ortega urged US President Joe Biden to respect human rights and "comply with international law."
He added that the people of Nicaragua do not ask for handouts, but for justice, stressing that US pressure, threats, and sanctions do not frighten the people but rather increase their steadfastness in the face of US imperialism.
It is noteworthy that Ortega and several Nicaraguan officials are currently subject to sanctions imposed by both the United States and the European Union.
