Public Easter Celebrations Banned

A large church is surrounded by trees. A fountain with a pond is in the foreground.
A church in Nicaragua.

This year, Christians across Nicaragua are celebrating Holy Week under the watchful eye of police and paramilitary forces. The heightened tensions follow the decision of the Sandinista government led by Daniel Ortega and Rosaria Murillo to ban many public celebrations, including processions that are common among Latin American churches.