Nicaragua’s parliament has voted to shut down 25 nongovernmental organizations that have criticized Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Groups banned include the Nicaraguan Permanent Human Rights Commission. This is the group’s executive secretary, Marcos Carmona.

Marcos Carmona: “We regret this government is silencing the Nicaraguan Permanent Commission on Human Rights. We know they are affecting not only our institutions but all people of Nicaragua. We were the only institution that documented the arbitrary abuses committed by different agencies of the state and by government officials.”

Another group ordered closed in Nicaragua was the Luisa Mercado Foundation, which is run by Sergio Ramírez Mercado, an acclaimed Nicaraguan writer and a former Sandinista who served as vice president under Ortega from 1985 to 1990. The Ortega administration has accused many of the organizations of accepting foreign funding and being involved in efforts to destabilize the Nicaraguan government.