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Nicaraguan police detain bishop, other priests in raid

Published:Friday | August 19, 2022 | 4:54 PM
Anti-government demonstrators hold a banner featuring a group of Catholic cardinals including Nicaraguan Leopoldo Brenes (centre right) and a quote from John Paul II that reads in Spanish, "The Church is the first to want peace!", during a march supporting the Catholic Church, in Managua, Nicaragua, July 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaraguan police on Friday raided the residence of a Roman Catholic bishop critical of President Daniel Ortega's administration, detaining him and several other priests in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the church and a government increasingly intolerant of dissent.

The pre-dawn raid came after Nicaraguan authorities had accused Matagalpa Bishop Rolando Álvarez of “organising violent groups” and inciting them “to carry out acts of hate against the population.”

President Daniel Ortega's government has moved systematically against voices of dissent, arresting dozens of opposition leaders last year, including seven potential candidates to challenge him for the presidency. They were sentenced to prison this year in quick trials closed to the public.

The congress, dominated by Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front, has ordered the closure of more than 1,000 non-governmental organisations, including Mother Teresa's charity.

Early Friday, the Matagalpa diocese posted on social media, “#SOS #Urgente.

At this time the National Police have entered the Episcopal rectory of our Matagalpa diocese.”

The National Police confirmed the detentions in a statement later, saying that the operation was carried out to allow “the citizenry and families of Matagalpa to recover normalcy.”

“For several days a positive communication from the Matagalpa diocese was awaited with a lot of patience, prudence and sense of responsibility, that never materialised,” the statement said.

“With the continuation of the destabilising and provocative activities, the aforementioned public order operation became necessary.”

It did not mention specific charges.

Álvarez was being held under guard at a house in Managua, where he had been allowed to meet with relatives and Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, the police statement said.

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