USCIRF Condemns Nicaragua’s Arbitrary Detention of Priests  

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the Nicaraguan government’s arbitrary arrest and detention of clergymen in the days leading up to and immediately after Christmas. Among the arbitrarily detained clergymen are Father Silvio Fonseca, who has openly criticized the Nicaraguan government’s intense persecution of the Catholic Church, and Bishop Isidro Mora and Father Pablo Villafranca, each of whom offered prayers for the wrongfully imprisoned Bishop Rolando Álvarez prior to their arrests.

“USCIRF is outraged that the Nicaraguan government has chosen to continue its brutal crackdown on members of the Catholic Church for speaking out about the religious freedom and human rights violations occurring in the country,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie. “It has become increasingly clear that President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo are intent on silencing the voice of any individual peacefully following the dictates of their conscience.”

On Christmas Eve, the regime also sentenced six former employees of the Catholic charity Caritas, Julio Sevilla, Julio Berríos, Bladimir Pallés, María Verónica Herrera Galeano, Freydell Andino, and Mariví Andino, to six years imprisonment on dubious money laundering charges. This latest wave of persecution bookends a year which saw the Nicaraguan government, among many other violations, sentence Bishop Rolando Álvarez to 26 years’ imprisonment, expel religious prisoners of conscience to the United States and the Vatican, and shutter Catholic charitable and educational institutions such as the Jesuit-run University of Central America.

“We urge the U.S. Congress to help stem these egregious religious freedom violations and hold violators accountable by passing the bipartisan Restoring Sovereignty and Human Rights in Nicaragua Act of 2023,” said USCIRF Commissioner Frank Wolf. “This bill expands the U.S. government’s ability to sanction officials responsible for religious freedom and human rights violations and ensures the U.S. government’s support for the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, which is working diligently to investigate all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in the country since 2018.”

In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended the U.S. Department of State redesignate Nicaragua as a Country of Particular Concern for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. In November 2022, USCIRF held a hearing on the “Crackdown on Religious Freedom in Nicaragua” and discussed the situation in an episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].