The Nicaraguan dictatorship announced via a press release on Sunday that after negotiations with the Vatican, all Nicaraguan Catholic clergy who were in prison have been released and exiled to Rome.
In the January 14 official statement, the government of Daniel Ortega expressed gratitude to Pope Francis and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin “for the very respectful and discreet coordination carried out to make possible the trip to the Vatican of two bishops, fifteen priests and two seminarians” who were imprisoned for opposing the dictatorship.
The list includes Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, a prominent critic of the Nicaraguan dictatorship who was sentenced to 26 years in jail for “treason.”
The list, officially released by the dictatorship, also includes Bishop Isidoro Mora, who was imprisoned in December for saying during a Christmas celebration that he was praying for Bishop Álvarez.
Except for the accusation of treason against Bishop Álvarez, the Ortega regime never explained the alleged crimes committed by the jailed Catholic clergy.
Since Ortega dismantled the democratic system in 2018, the Catholic Church has remained the only institution publicly criticizing the regime.