Earlier this month, the Daniel Ortega government in Nicaragua shut down a Jesuit-run university and renamed it the "Casimiro Sotelo Montenegro National University" in honor of a Sandinista student leader from 1967. This move followed the expulsion of Jesuit students from a nearby house, with the government alleging the university was harboring terrorists.

Jason Poblete, the President of the Global Liberty Alliance and a Central and South America expert, spoke about the situation in Nicaragua during an interview with "EWTN News Nightly" on August 24. He believes this is a systematic assault on the Catholic Church in a predominantly Catholic country, with the government aiming to gradually eliminate Catholicism from the public sphere. Despite the deeply religious nature of the Nicaraguan people, the Ortega regime has been openly cracking down on the Catholic Church, closing institutions and persecuting religious groups.

The U.S. State Department has recently imposed visa restrictions on 100 top Nicaraguan officials. However, Poblete suggests that these sanctions might not be as effective as they could be. He believes that the United States needs a more comprehensive policy to protect religious freedom, a core national value, and to stop procrastinating in dealing with the Nicaraguan dictator.

Poblete emphasizes the importance of reading materials published by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which offers valuable recommendations that should be considered and adopted by the Biden administration.

In summary, the Nicaraguan government's actions against the Catholic Church have raised concerns, and there is a call for more proactive and comprehensive U.S. policies to address this issue and promote religious freedom in Nicaragua.