This should not have happened.

In Nicaragua, the detention of two senior Catholic priests, Carlos Aviles and Hector Treminio, has heightened tensions between the state and the Catholic Church. Both priests, closely linked to the country’s top Catholic leadership, were arrested for publicly praying for imprisoned Bishop Rolando Alvarez. Alvarez, a vocal critic of President Daniel Ortega, received a 26-year prison sentence earlier in the year on charges of treason for condemning the government’s response to mass protests in 2018.

These arrests are part of a concerning trend where at least six clergymen were detained in a week. Aviles, the second-highest-ranking clergyman in the Archdiocese of Managua, and Treminio, the treasurer, became targets due to their public support for Alvarez, showcasing a pattern of targeting those aligned with the jailed bishop.

President Ortega’s administration has increasingly targeted Catholic Church members, using charges like treason or other alleged crimes as justifications. The call for the release of these detained priests has been echoed by Bishop Silvio Baez, currently in exile in Florida, and Martha Patricia Molina, an exiled Nicaraguan researcher, who reported a total of nine imprisoned bishops, priests, and seminarians in Nicaragua.

The narrative portraying President Ortega as divinely chosen for the nation has perpetuated this persecution. This struggle began after protests against changes to the public pension system in 2018, following years of economic decline. Initially demanding democratic reforms and the resignation of Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo due to concerns of nepotism and repression, the protests were met with force by Ortega’s government.

Despite initially seeking the Catholic Church’s mediation during the 2018 protests, Ortega’s administration targeted clergy who supported protesters and advocated for peaceful demonstrations. This suppression resulted in the loss of numerous lives during the 2018 protests and has since escalated tensions between the government and the Catholic Church, culminating in the recent arrests of clergy members like Aviles and Treminio.

Categorized in:

News & Culture