Nicaraguan police detain bishop, other priests in raid
Updated: 11:45am (AEST)Mexico City, Mexico AP Nicaraguan police on Friday raided the residence of a Roman Catholic bishop critical of President Daniel Ortega’s administration, detaining him and several other priests in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the church and a government increasingly intolerant of dissent. The pre-dawn raid came after Nicaraguan authorities had accused […]
Nicaragua´s Catholic Church says priest detained as crackdown intensifies
Reuters A Nicaraguan Catholic priest from a northern parish was detained after celebrating Mass, the church said, amid rising tensions between the church and the government of President Daniel Ortega. The diocese of Siuna, around 300 kilometres north-east of Managua, said in a statement on Sunday evening that priest Oscar Benavidez had been detained. “We […]
Nicaraguan political prisoners held in “horrific conditions”, says lawyer
Managua, NicaraguaReuters Two former presidential candidates are among more than 180 political prisoners in Nicaragua undergoing “the worst kinds of human rights abuses,” their lawyer said Wednesday. One year after Juan Sebastian Chamorro and Felix Maradiaga were arrested ahead of Nicaragua’s disputed 2021 election, neither has spoken to their families and both are being held […]
Nicaraguan bishop fasts to protest police harassment
Mexico City, MexicoAP A Roman Catholic bishop in Nicaragua began an “indefinite fast” Friday inside a church to protest increasing harassment from national police, who he said followed him throughout the entire previous day. Rolando Álvarez, the Bishop of Matagalpa and a fierce critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government, said in a video published by […]
Nicaragua shuts down more than two dozen NGOs critical of Ortega
Managua, Nicaragua Reuters Nicaragua’s parliament, controlled by allies of President Daniel Ortega, on Wednesday shut down 25 non-governmental organizations in a move slammed by the opposition as a further attack on civil society. The organisations, many of which have publicly criticised the government, were closed by Congress with 74 votes in favour and 15 abstentions. […]
Vatican protests over expulsion of its ambassador to Nicaragua
Vatican CityReuters The Vatican on Saturday protested to Nicaragua over the effective expulsion of its ambassador to Managua, saying the unilateral action was unjustified and incomprehensible. Archbishop Waldemar Sommertag, who was ambassador since 2018, had to leave the country suddenly this week after the government of President Daniel Ortega withdrew its diplomatic approval of the […]
China opens embassy in Nicaragua for first time since 1990
Managua, Nicaragua AP China opened an embassy in Nicaragua on Friday for the first time since 1990, acting just over three weeks since President Daniel Ortega’s government broke off relations with Taiwan. Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said there is an “ideological affinity” between the two countries. Moncada also thanked China for donating one million doses […]
Nicaragua decree demoting Vatican ambassador is retaliation for church comments, say diplomats
Rome, ItalyReuters A Nicaraguan presidential decree affecting the Holy See’s ambassador in the Central American country appears to be retaliation for comments made by the local Church leadership criticizing the government’s slide away from democracy, diplomats said on Friday. President Daniel Ortega’s decree this week stripped the Vatican’s ambassador in Managua, Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, […]
Nicaragua marks 1979 revolution date with opponents jailed
Managua, NicaraguaAP The Nicaraguan Government organised rallies and festivities Monday to mark the anniversary of the 19th July, 1979, revolution that overthrew dictator Anastasio Somoza. But with most opposition leaders jailed, many Nicaraguans say President Daniel Ortega is acting much like Somoza did 42 years ago. Several of the leading Sandinista revolutionaries who fought alongside […]
US blasts Nicaragua “campaign of terror” as global condemnation grows
Geneva, Switzerland/Mexico City, MexicoReuters International pressure mounted on Nicaragua on Tuesday, with President Daniel Ortega’s crackdown on the opposition described by Washington as a “campaign of terror” that the United Nations said meant November elections were unlikely to be free or fair. Ortega’s government has arrested at least 14 political opponents in recent weeks, including […]