Nicaragua arrests two more priests in Matagalpa

SAN JOSE (EFE).— Nicaraguan priests Ulises René Vega Matamoros and Edgar Sacasa, judicial vicar and pastoral vicar, respectively, of the diocese of Matagalpa, in northern Nicaragua, were arrested yesterday by the National Police amid tensions between the government of President Daniel Ortega and the Catholic Church, denounced exiled priest Edwin Román and the local press.

Exiled priest Edwing Román, a strong critic of the Sandinista government, said through the social network X that the “dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo are taking advantage of the world’s attention on Venezuela to imprison (two) priests in Nicaragua, and continue (the) persecution of the Catholic Church, amidst complicit silence and a lack of courage to genuinely preach the Gospel.”

The Nicaraguan website “República 18” indicated that the priest Vega Matamoros, in addition to serving as judicial vicar, is responsible for family pastoral care in the diocese of Matagalpa and parish priest of the San Ramón church; while Sacasa, in addition to being pastoral vicar of that same diocese, is a priest of the San Isidro parish.

The arrest of these priests occurred on the same day that the popular festivities in honor of Santo Domingo de Guzmán began in Managua, one of the few religious activities and traditions authorized to take place in the streets in Nicaragua, although under the coordination of the capital’s mayor’s office, governed by the Sandinistas, and the National Police.

So far, neither the Nicaraguan government nor the National Police have offered their version of events regarding the detentions, which they generally do not comment on.

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