Nicaragua detains over a dozen priests in renewed crackdown on Catholic Church
Nicaragua has detained around a dozen priests in what advocates are calling a “renewed crackdown” on the Catholic Church, most of whom were leaders in the diocese previously led by exiled Bishop Rolando Álvarez.
Seventy-nine-year-old Father Frutos Constantino Valle Salmerón was detained on July 26 by the National Police and was told he didn’t have permission to ordain three deacons in the Diocese of Estelí in Managua, the global watchdog organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide said Wednesday.
A diabetic suffering from hypertension, Frutos became sick in the police vehicle and was placed under house arrest at the National Inter-Diocesan Seminary of Our Lady of Fátima.
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Two senior church officials in the Diocese of Matagalpa — Fathers Ulises René Vega Matamoros and Edgard Sacasa — were arbitrarily detained on Aug. 1 and also taken to the Managua-based seminary. Vega, administrator of the San Ramón parishes, and Sacasa, administrator of the San Isidro parish, assumed leadership of the Diocese of Matagalpa after the high-profile exile of Bishop Álvarez earlier this year.
In the following two days — Aug. 2 and Aug. 3 — the National Police detained more religious leaders from their parishes in Matagalpa and placed them under house arrest at the Managua-based seminary. Those include Father Jairo Pravia and Vicar Víctor Godoy of the Immaculate Conception of María de Sebáco Church, Franciscans Friar Silvio José Romero, Friar Ramón Morras, Father Antonio López and Father Salvador López.
On Monday, police detained Father Jarvin Tórrez, rector of the Matagalpa seminary and parish priest of Santa María de Guadalupe Church in Matagalpa.
Father Raúl Francisco Villegas from Matiguás Matagalpa parish, originally from Mexico, and Maron Velásquez Flores, vicar of Santa Lucía parish, are also detained at the seminary, CSW reports.
At least 13 Catholic leaders were detained over a week, Vatican News reports.
Seventy priests used to oversee the Diocese of Matagalpa, including 57 nationals and 13 foreigners, 30 of whom are in exile and four deceased, according to Nicaraguan lawyer Martha Patricia.
The United Kingdom-based CSW, which monitors Christian persecution in several countries, is calling for the unconditional release of all religious leaders and political prisoners detained in recent months.
“The continued detention and arrests of religious leaders by the Nicaraguan government are both unwarranted and unconscionable,” CSW Founding President Mervyn Thomas said in a statement.
“We urge the international community to emphasize to the Nicaraguan government that the ongoing crackdown on independent civil society, the relentless targeting of religious leaders and the continual violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief are unacceptable. More must be done to hold President [Danie] Ortega, his wife and their regime to account for the deteriorating situation of human rights in the country.”
In January, Bishop Álvarez, a critic of the Ortega regime who was sentenced to 26 years in prison in February 2023 for “undermining national integrity,” was exiled along with around 18 other Catholic leaders following negotiations with the Vatican. The exile included over a dozen Catholic leaders and seminarians detained in a December 2023 crackdown.
Tensions between the Catholic Church and the Ortega regime have deteriorated amid the crackdowns. In March 2023, Nicaragua forced the Vatican to close its nunciature in Managua. Citing the human rights organization Nicaragua Nunca Mas collective, the French newspaper La Croix reports that over 200 religious figures have either fled or been forced to leave the country.
The U.S. State Department identifies Nicaragua as a “Country of Particular Concern” for engaging in egregious religious freedom violations. In its annual international religious freedom report, the State Department notes that government crackdowns have also impacted Evangelicals in Nicaragua.
In March, 11 pastors linked to the U.S.-based Mountain Gateway ministry were convicted of money laundering in a case that implicated three U.S. citizens. The charges came after the ministry organized evangelism outreaches that drew hundreds of thousands across various cities. The ministry has refuted the charges.
Since 2018, at least 60 Evangelical pastors have self-exiled due to government threats or were refused reentry into the country after they traveled abroad, according to the State Department report, which cites the news site 100% Noticias.
