Central American University, Managua

Central American University

Universidad Centroamericana
Veritas liberabit vos. Truth will make you free.
Motto	Somos UCA
Motto in English	We're UCA
Type	Private
Established	July 23, 1960; 64 years ago (July 23, 1960)
Affiliation	AUSJAL (Assoc.of Jesuit Universities in LA)
Religious affiliation	Jesuit (Roman Catholic)
Rector	Rev. José Alberto Idiáquez Guevara, SJ
Academic staff	829
Administrative staff	540
Undergraduates	8,787
Postgraduates	643
Location	Managua , Nicaragua 12°07′31″N 86°16′19″W / 12.12528°N 86.27194°W / 12.12528; -86.27194
Website	www.uca.edu.ni

Central American University – Managua (Universidad Centroamericana – UCA) was a private Catholic university located in Managua, Nicaragua. It was founded in July 1960 by the Society of Jesus on land donated by the Somoza family and was the first private university in Central America.^[1] It numbered among its alumni Daniel Ortega, who did not graduate, Daisy Zamora, Sheynnis Palacios, and Ernesto Leal. It was located on Avenida Universitaria in the capital city of Managua (Nicaragua).

On August 16, 2023, through a spurious judicial decree, the university was closed and confiscated by the government of Daniel Ortega, accusing it of operating as a center for "terrorism" by organizing "delinquent groups," within the framework of the political crisis that Nicaragua has been experiencing since 2018 following protests against reforms to the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute. In its place, the government established the Universidad Nacional Casimiro Sotel Montenegro (National University Casimiro Sotelo Montenegro) within the university's former facilities.