*Published originally on AJCU-NA website. 

On the anniversary of the unlawful seizure of Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in Nicaragua by the regime headed by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, we, the member institutions affiliated with the Association of Universities Entrusted to the Society of Jesus in Latin America (AUSJAL) and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities of North America (AJCU), call for the restoration of our sister Jesuit university. Likewise, we express our strong objection to the unilateral cancellation of the legal status of the Society of Jesus in Nicaragua, which was carried out on August 16, 2023, one day after the seizure.

The unjust seizure of the UCA Nicaragua was ordered by the Tenth Criminal Court District, Circumscription Managua, which slandered the University, describing it as a “center of terrorism.” It accused UCA of having “betrayed the trust of the Nicaraguan people” and “having transgressed the constitutional order, the legal order and the regulations governing the country’s Higher Education Institutions.” Subsequently, on August 17, the National Council of Universities cancelled UCA’s authorization to operate.

None of this was new. UCA, whose legal status was cancelled by the government, had previously been slandered and harassed, as had more than three thousand Nicaraguan civil society organizations and the Catholic Church. These denunciations amounted to “crimes against humanity” according to the United Nations Group of Experts on Human Rights. Beginning in 2018, the regime began targeting specific members of the UCA community, making them victims of multiple and progressive aggression. Since then, 355 people have died as a result of the government’s repression of citizen demonstrations that called for the resignation of Daniel Ortega.

Eventually, the Ministry of the Interior, the National Council of Evaluation and Accreditation (CNEA), and the National Council of Universities (CNU) unjustifiably denied UCA the certifications needed to fulfill its mission to educate, produce knowledge, and engage socially. This had previously occurred with 28 other higher education institutions whose assets were confiscated. By being excluded from these bodies, the UCA lost access to the public education budget to which it was entitled, directly impacting students who are entitled to these funds to finance their studies.

With the confiscation carried out on August 15, 2023, the education of five thousand students was unilaterally terminated. We maintain, with the Central American Province of the Society of Jesus, that the confiscation of UCA’s assets was a governmental reprisal for the work promoted by this institution in the search for a more just society, as well as for its commitment to protect the life, truth and freedom of the Nicaraguan people, in line with its motto, “The truth will set you free.”(John 8:32). Moreover, the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) recognized the pivotal role that UCA Nicaragua has played in the life of the nation for the past sixty years by awarding the University its Pedro Canisio Medal at Boston College, one year before this unjust seizure.

Our denunciations of these acts join denunciations from the governments of the United States, Colombia and Chile, hundreds of inter-university associations, institutions of higher education, civil society, social leaders, and academics.

For these reasons, the Jesuit universities of the Americas reiterate their support for the violated university community of the UCA Nicaragua, and their Jesuit brothers based in the country. Likewise, we continue to support the demands of the Central American Province, the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, and Jesuits around the world who have called for:

1. The reinstatement of the juridical status of the Society of Jesus in Nicaragua;
2. The return of facilities, equipment, bank accounts, and official recognition of the UCA Nicaragua to the members of the Society of Jesus in the country;
3. The cessation of aggression against the Society of Jesus and the Catholic Church in Nicaragua; and
4. The restoration of the rule of law and academic freedom in Nicaragua.

We reaffirm the commitment of the Society of Jesus with the Nicaraguan people in favor of quality education for all people, inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He and his Resurrection sustain our hope that national and international solidarity will engender a renewed Nicaragua and a renewed UCA.

“God has the last word on history, and He will also have the last word on Nicaragua.”

Salvador D. Aceves, Ed.D.
President, Regis University

Kimo Ah Yun, Ph.D.
Acting President, Marquette University

Hubert Benitez, D.D.S., Ph.D.
President, Saint Peter’s University

Sandra Cassady, Ph.D.
President, Rockhurst University

Xavier A. Cole, Ed.D.
President, Loyola University New Orleans

John J. DeGioia, Ph.D.
President, Georgetown University

Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J.
President, University of San Francisco

Colleen M. Hanycz, Ph.D.
President, Xavier University

Rev. Sami Helewa, S.J.
President, Campion College (Regina, Canada: Associate Member)

Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, S.J.
President, Creighton University

Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.
President, Boston College

Linda M. LeMura, Ph.D.
President, Le Moyne College

Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J.
President, The University of Scranton

Cheryl A. McConnell, Ph.D.
President, Saint Joseph’s University

Thayne M. McCulloh, D.Phil.
President, Gonzaga University

Alan R. Miciak, Ph.D.
President, John Carroll University

Mark R. Nemec, Ph.D.
President, Fairfield University

Eduardo M. Peñalver, J.D.
President, Seattle University

Mirtha Alicia “Alice” Peralta, Ph.D.
President, St. John’s College (Belize)

Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D.
President, Saint Louis University

Mark C. Reed, Ed.D.
President, Loyola University Chicago

Rev. Gordon Rixon, S.J.
President, Regis College (Toronto, Canada: Associate Member)

Vincent D. Rougeau, J.D.
President, College of the Holy Cross

Terrence M. Sawyer, J.D.
President, Loyola University Maryland

Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D.
President, Loyola Marymount University

Steve K. Stoute, J.D.
President, Canisius University

Julie Sullivan, Ph.D.
President, Santa Clara University

Donald B. Taylor, Ph.D.
President, University of Detroit Mercy

Tania Tetlow, J.D.
President, Fordham University

Mary H. Van Brunt, Ph.D.
President, Spring Hill College

Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
President, Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities