The Ortega and Murillo regime expels Bishop Rolando Álvarez and the priests and seminarians he kept in prison

At dawn on January 14, a plane left Managua with its final destination to Rome, transporting the bishop of Matagalpa and political prisoner of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, into exile. Along with the prelate, the bishop of Siuna, Isidoro Mora Ortega, and 17 priests and seminarians who had been arrested during a police hunt launched during the last Christmas and New Year holidays were also expelled from Nicaragua.

Minutes before Bishop Silvio Báez – forcibly exiled in the United States since 2019 – began his Sunday Mass at the Santa Agatha parish in Miami, the news of the exile of his companions emerged. Between astonished and cautious, Báez avoided referring to the information that Catholic sources confirmed to EL PAÍS. “Let's hope it comes out first in the 19th,” the auxiliary bishop of Managua excused himself, referring to On 19 Digital, the main propaganda organ of the Ortega and Murillo regime and through which the exiles of Nicaraguans are disseminated.

At the end of his mass in Miami, checking his cell phone and maintaining his composure during the homily, Báez announced to his parishioners the exile of the religious and Bishop Álvarez, the voice that most bothered the presidential couple in Nicaragua. “The criminal dictatorship of Daniel Ortega has not been able to count on the power of God,” exclaimed Báez excitedly, trying unsuccessfully to contain his tears. “The bishops, priests and seminarians who were kidnapped, who were unjustly imprisoned, and who were innocent, have landed at the airport in Rome and have been welcomed by the Holy See… Therefore, I would like to invite you to give thanks.” to Pope Francis and Vatican diplomacy.”

This Sunday afternoon, the Government confirmed the exile of Monsignor Álvarez and the other Catholic religious through a statement that refers to “agreements with the Holy See” and thanks Pope Francis and the Vatican Secretary of State. , Pietro Parolin, “the very respectful and discreet coordination carried out.” Earlier, in the morning, the relatives of the clerics were informed from Rome about the exile. Likewise, Catholic sources in the Holy See had confirmed to EL PAÍS that the two bishops, priests and seminarians were received by the Vatican authorities and were given the necessary attention so that they could settle in Rome. “They are already in San Pedro's house,” they assured.

This is the second exile of priests to Rome. The first one happened in October 2023, when 12 parish priests were expelled from Nicaragua on a plane after “agreements with the Vatican” were reached. In the last 12 months, Pope Francis has twice advocated opening a dialogue with the Ortega-Murillo regime, while expressing concern about the lengthening sociopolitical crisis plaguing Nicaraguans.

“The situation in Nicaragua also remains worrying; “It is a crisis that has been going on for a long time with painful consequences for the entire Nicaraguan society, particularly for the Catholic Church,” said the Pontiff at the beginning of 2024.

The exile of Monsignor Álvarez, head of the Diocese of Matagalpa and Estelí, occurs after in February 2023 the prelate refused to board the plane that led to the exile in the United States of 222 political prisoners. In retaliation, the Ortega-Murillos sentenced Álvarez to 26 years in prison and confined him in a maximum security cell in the La Modelo prison.

In July 2023, “contacts” were established between the regime and the Vatican to free the bishop. However, Álvarez rejected the conditions of his imprisonment, which meant exile. He was kept in prison and presented to the public on two occasions after complaints of the isolation he suffered in La Modelo.

The exile of Álvarez represents a relief for the regime from the national and international condemnation for his release. According to a CID Gallup survey, 72% of Nicaraguans rejected Álvarez's political condemnation. However, this second exile of religious intensifies the persecution against Catholicism which, as of this Sunday, is left without its main figures in the territory.

The majority of these banished priests were vicars and powerful voices within a religious institution that strongly criticizes the human rights violations committed by the Ortega-Murillo family since 2018, when police and paramilitaries brutally broke up social protests. A political violence that has continued for more than a five-year period with a police state that overlaps with a totalitarian regime, where persecution, prison and exile prevail against those who criticize the Government.

According to researcher Martha Patricia Molina, the regime has sent and forced 203 religious men and women to banishment and expulsion or has denied them entry to Nicaragua. Everything, between 2018 and January 2024. More than 80% of these attacks were recorded in 2023, when religious persecution reached its climax with the prohibition of Holy Week rites.

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