The Nicaraguan government, led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, has officially expropriated the San José School in Jinotepe, located in the Carazo department. The school, which had been operating for 40 years, was run by the Congregation of the Josephine Sisters.

According to the EFE news agency, Murillo accused the nuns of being involved in “crimes” during the 2018 protests. She claimed that Sandinista supporters had been “tortured and killed” at the school during the anti-government demonstrations that erupted in April that year.

Murillo also announced that the school would be renamed the “Bismarck Martínez Educational Center,” in honor of a Sandinista activist who was killed during those protests.

The work of the Sisters

According to the independent news site Despacho 505, researcher Martha Patricia Molina condemned the government’s action, accusing Murillo of defaming the religious congregation.

She noted that the Josephine Sisters, who arrived in Nicaragua in February 1915, have always dedicated themselves to educating boys and girls in Christian and humanist values, grounded in love for others and the practice of charity.

U.S. condemns the action

In Washington, D.C., the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs denounced the expropriation on its X (formerly Twitter) account, calling it “further proof that the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship’s cruelty knows no bounds.”

This is not the first time the Nicaraguan government has seized property belonging to religious orders or the Catholic Church.

In January, the regime expropriated two Church-owned buildings: the San Luis Gonzaga Seminary in the Diocese of Matagalpa and the La Cartuja spiritual retreat center.

Over time, there have been numerous arrests and expulsions of bishops and priests, as well as bans on religious activities and processions.