José Daniel Ortega Saavedra, 78, was born in La Libertad, Chontales, Nicaragua while Rosario María Murillo Zambrana was born in Managua, Nicaragua. In 1979, they got married in a secret ceremony.
In 2005, Ortega and Murillo remarried in order to have their marriage recognized by the Catholic Church. He has been the president of Nicaragua since January 10, 2007 and she has been the vice president of the country since January 10, 2017.
In 2014, the construction of the Nicaragua Canal, a proposed shipping route through Nicaragua to connect the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean, was about to begin when Nicaraguans started to protest against Ortega. In April 2018, the protests were renewed after his administration’s decree of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute’s social security reform and since then, he has accused Catholic priests of organizing themselves and orchestrating a coup.
In August 2022, Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, a bishop of Matagalpa, was placed under house arrest and charged with conspiracy, spreading false information, obstruction of justice and contempt for authorities. In February 2023, he was sentenced to 26 years and 4 months in the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary,a prison in Tipitapa, Managua, Nicaragua also known as La Modelo.
In December 2023, a total of 14 priests were reportedly arrested in Nicaragua, which the Nicaraguan government neither denied nor confirmed. Here are the priests’ names:
- Carlos Aviles is the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Managua.
- Daniel Ortega is a priest in Managua who is a critic of the government of Ortega.
- Gerardo Rodríguez is a priest of the Church of the Immaculate Conception.
- Hector Treminio is the treasurer of the Archdiocese of Managua.
- Isidoro del Carmen Mora Ortega, 63, is the bishop of Siuna, Nicaragua. Born in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, he was ordained on September 20, 2003. He was vicar general of the Diocese of Matagalpa before Pope Francis appointed him as bishop of Siuna on April 8, 2021.
- Ismael Serrano is the parish priest of St. Michael the Archangel. in Managua
- Jader Guido is a curate of Matagalpa cathedral.
- Marcos Días Prado is the parish priest of the Church of St Thomas the Apostle in Puerto del Corinto in the Diocese of Leon in Nicaragua.
- Miguel Mántica is the diocesan vicar for ministry to families in Managua and the parish priest of the Church of San Francisco de Asís.
- Mykell Monterrey is the parish priest of Our Lady of Candelaria in Managua.
- Oscar Escoto is a vicar general in Matagalpa.
- Pablo Villafranca is a priest in the Archdiocese of Managua.
- Raul Zamora is a priest priest of the Church of Divine Mercy in Managua and a critic of the government of Ortega.
- Silvio Fonseca is the vicar of the Family, Life and Childhood Commission of the Archdiocese of Managua.
TIMELINE
December 19, 2023
- Escoto celebrated a mass for the 99th anniversary of the creation of the Diocese of Matagalpa in St. Peter’s Cathedral in Matagalpa where he asked people to pray for Alvarez.
December 20, 2023
- Escoto was arrested while he was on his way to La Cruz del Rio Grande, Región Autónoma de la Costa Caribe Sur, Nicaragua. Two seminarians were detained with him.
December 21, 2023
- In the evening, Escoto was arrested by police and armed civilians.
December 22, 2023
- In the morning, Escoto was released from jail but in the evening, he was arrested again.
December 23, 2023
- Escoto was released from jail.
December 24, 2023
- Guido was arrested after praying for his fellow priests. He was released before midnight.
December 28, 2023
- Aviles, Treminio and Villafranca were arrested.
December 29, 2023
- Fonseca, Mántica, Monterrey, Prado, Serrano, Zamora were arrested
December 30, 2023
- Rodríguez was arrested.
CONAN Daily 