Nicaragua: Sandinista police detain Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa

The police under Daniel Ortega's regime in Nicaragua took Bishop Rolando Alvarez into custody. The Sandinista forces' raid took place at 3:00 a.m. local time at the bishop's palace in Matagalpa. Alvarez was held in the bishop's palace for 16 days along with ten of his collaborators.

The information was posted on the Diocese of Matagalpa's Facebook account.

When the church bells started ringing, hundreds of people came to try to protect Monsignor Alvarez's safety. According to local media, the bishop's followers, to no avail, finally returned to their homes.

For now it is not known where Monsignor Rolando Álvarez is being held. Local journalists who have been reporting on the situation said that the other priests were also kidnapped.

The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) condemned Alvarez's kidnapping on Twitter.

Alvarez's arrest comes after Nicaragua's Public Prosecutor's Office requested a sentence of up to 90 days in prison to extend an investigation into Fr. Oscar Danilo Benavidez Davila, who has been detained since last Sunday for a case that has yet to be specified. The State of Nicaragua is offended by Fr. Benavidez, although according to the EFE news agency, the judicial file does not specify the alleged crime under investigation against the priest.

Persecution of the Catholic Church

Bishop Rolando Alvarez has been one of the members of the Church most besieged by Daniel Ortega's repressive forces in Nicaragua. For weeks several police patrols have been blocking off the streets near his residence in Matagalpa. The Sandinista forces justify Alvarez's investigation for attempting to organize violent groups and inciting hatred with the purpose of destabilizing Nicaragua. The bishop was targeted by Ortega after denouncing the authorities' decision to close five Catholic radio stations and demanding that the government respect religious freedom.

The Ortega government has labeled the Catholic bishops as "terrorists" since the Church acted as a mediator in a dialogue that sought a way out of the Nicaraguan crisis in 2018. In less than four years, the Nicaraguan Church suffered 190 attacks and blasphemy, including death threats and aggressions with Molotov cocktails, according to attorney Martha Molina Montenegro's investigation.