The Diocese of Siuna, in Nicaragua, denounced this Monday (15) the arrest and disappearance of one of its priests, amid the repression of the Catholic Church in the country by the regime of dictator Daniel Ortega.
“On the afternoon of Sunday, August 14, priest Óscar Benavidez, parish priest of the Espírito Santo Parish, was detained”, in the municipality of Mulukuku, in the Autonomous Region of the North Caribbean of Nicaragua, according to information released by the diocese, which indicated that it was unaware the reasons for the priest’s arrest. “We hope that the authorities will keep us informed,” the official note said.
The Diocese of Siuna appealed to the Catholic faithful to unite in prayer for Benavidez, whose “only mission is and was to announce the good news of Jesus Christ, who is word, life and salvation for all”.
The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) reported that the priest was arbitrarily detained. “According to information, he was removed from his vehicle and taken in a van, with an unknown direction,” the organization said in a statement.
Benavidez is the third religious arrested this year in Nicaragua, and the ninth to be in police custody, including Bishop Rolando Álvarez, in addition to five other priests who have been detained since the 4th.
The diocese of Siuna was the first to offer public support to Álvarez, who the National Police accuses of trying to “organize violent groups”, although no evidence has been presented in the case.
The detention announced on Monday comes amid a series of actions by the Sandinista regime against the Catholic Church, which includes the ban on carrying out the procession of the pilgrim image of the Virgin of Fatima by the Archdiocese of Managua.
Ortega recently branded the detained bishops, who acted as mediators in the national crisis that erupted in April 2018, as “terrorists.”
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