Nicaragua dismantles a prominent university


A Nicaraguan court declared the Jesuit-run Central American University a “centre of terrorism” on Wednesday (16 August), ordering the government to seize its assets.

Since widespread anti-government protests broke out in 2018, the administration of Nicaragua’s long-running leader Daniel Ortega has:

The Catholic Church had survived as one of Nicaragua’s few remaining independent (and vocal) institutions. But in the past year, authorities have:

  • 📻 Shut down at least half a dozen Catholic radio stations
  • ⛪ Sentenced a prominent Church leader to 26 years in prison, and now
  • 🎓 Closed a leading Catholic university.

Intrigue’s take: Nicaragua is a predominantly Catholic nation, and polls suggest the Church remains the country’s most trusted institution.

But Mr. Ortega, a former guerrilla, has now shown himself willing to take down any institution, no matter how influential, that stands in his way.

Also worth noting:

  • At least three of Ortega’s children reportedly attended Central American University.
  • The cathedral in Managua sheltered student demonstrators during the 2018 unrest.
  • US border agents encountered 165,000 Nicaraguans in FY2022 compared to 50,000 in FY2021.
  • Ortega switched his country’s recognition from Taiwan to China in 2021.
Latest Author Articles
Why the US just lost its AAA credit rating

Any action movie must include a scene where the lead strolls towards camera and doesn’t even flinch as the building in the background explodes into the sky. And 116-year old ratings agency Moody’s kinda did that on Friday, strolling towards the weekend while its grenade exploded with news that it was downgrading US debt from AAA to […]

19 May, 2025
A US-China trade truce

The top economic representatives of the US (Scott Bessent) and China (He Lifeng) just emerged from a weekend of talks at the Swiss ambassador’s UN residence on Lake Geneva, and announced they’ll lower tariffs and de-escalate their trade war. In practice, this means trade between the world’s two biggest economies is once again viable, though […]

14 May, 2025
The geopolitics of Warren Buffett

Thousands made the annual pilgrimage to the Berkshire Hathaway AGM on Saturday to hear the latest wisdom from the Oracle of Omaha himself, Warren Buffett. But they got something else: a live announcement that the 94-year-old is retiring. He’s long shrugged off geopolitics, focusing instead on his value investment philosophy (“buy wonderful businesses at fair prices”) […]

5 May, 2025
China’s big flag in the sand

China’s state broadcaster reported (🇨🇳) over the weekend that the nation’s coast guard “implemented maritime control” over Sandy Cay in the Spratly Islands, replete with an image of four servicemen unfurling China’s flag in the sand (see below). Sandy Cay itself is tiny — barely half a basketball court, depending on the tide. So why do this? And […]

28 April, 2025