Police officers arrest 6 Catholic priests in Nicaragua

Persecution of Catholics continues in Nicaragua

This file photo by Alfredo Ziga of The Associated Press shows Daniel Ortega, the Nicaraguan president, right, and Rosario Murillo, the first lady of Nicaragua, in 2019. (Alfredo Zuniga, Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The list of Catholic priests arrested or exiled in Nicaragua got longer on Friday.

Authorities arrested six more: They were Rev. Pablo Villafranca, Rev. Héctor Treminio, Rev. Carlos Avilés, Rev. Fernando Calero, Rev. Marcos Díaz Prado, and Rev. Isidoro Mora.

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Silvio José Báez, the exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, reported on X that Avilés, of the Archdiocese of Managua; Treminio, of Holy Christ Parish; and Calero, of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, had vanished.

“I am outraged by the unjust abduction of three beloved priests,” Báez wrote adding, “the criminal Sandinista dictatorship” was to blame.

Attorney Martha Patricia Molina told reporters that Díaz Prado, of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, had been detained by authorities. Bishop Isidro Mora, of the Archdiocese of Siuna, was detained last week.

Police officers detained Bishop Rolando Álvarez for treason and sedition in 2022. In February, a judge sentenced Álvarez to 26 years in prison. Pope Francis referred to the Sandinista leadership as a “gross dictatorship”

Nicaragua suspended relations with the Vatican and the Ortega-Murillo family pushed to have control over the appointment of bishops or cardinals, the Catholic News Agency reported. They link the priests to the protests of 2018 that resulted in at least 100,000 exiled, 1,600 detainees, 2,000 injured, and 355 dead, according to the Associated Press.


About the Author
Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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