Vatican Shuts Down Embassy in Nicaragua Amid Crackdown.

The Vatican has closed its embassy in Nicaragua after the country's government proposed suspending diplomatic relations, following a yearslong crackdown on the Catholic Church by the administration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Relations between the church and Ortega's government have been deteriorating since 2018, when Nicaraguan authorities violently repressed anti-government protests. The Nicaraguan government also restricted Catholic activities inside churches, including banning the traditional street processions that thousands of Nicaraguans used to celebrate in the lead up to Holy Week and Easter.