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The media outlet Divergentes reported this Friday that the police of Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship in Nicaragua arrested Bishop Rolando Álvarez and his whereabouts are unknown. The procedure was allegedly carried out with at least 8 vehicles, including officers and paramilitaries.
The Diocese of Matagalpa denounced the procedure on Facebook. “Urgent. At this moment, the National Police have entered the Episcopal Curia of our Diocese of Matagalpa,” a message read.
The case of Rolando Álvarez
Rolando Álvarez is one of the religious leaders most persecuted by the Ortega regime, since he went out into the street outside the diocesan curia with the Blessed Sacrament to bless those who accompanied him -and the police who prevented him from entering the place.
At that moment, Monsignor Alvarez called for a mass and holy hour in the Cathedral at 4 p.m. He was then allowed to enter the curia without knowing that he was under indefinite house arrest.
The persecution of the church in Nicaragua is not new. The situation dates back to at least 2018, when the Church’s participation in the protests and its failed role as mediator in the negotiations between the regime and the opposition triggered a severe persecution.
This year, the attack on the church has deepened. Civil society, various politicians, and personalities have asked the Pope to speak out against the persecution of the church without receiving a response from the highest authority.
Williams Perdomo es periodista y escritor, especializado en las fuentes Política y Cultura.