The dictatorial regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo ordered the arrest of the octogenarian priest Fruto Valle, administrator “Ad Omnia” of the Diocese of Estelí, and transferred him to Managua, where he was held under “seminary prison.”
Priest Valle is 80 years old and suffers from multiple illnesses typical of his age. His arrest by the Sandinista Police was reported by the researcher on religious issues Martha Patricia Molina.
The regime’s police reportedly arrived at the priest’s residence in the city of Somoto, in the north of the country, to take him into custody, just 24 hours after having notified him that “the Government” had not authorized a priestly ordination mass that was scheduled for this Saturday, June 27, in which three deacons belonging to the Diocese of Estelí would be named priests.
Father Fruto, as he is known by the parishioners, has been a priest for more than 50 years. In January 2023, the Holy See appointed him administrator “Ad Omnia” (to all) of the Diocese of Estelí, in the forced absence of the apostolic administrator, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, who was exiled by the dictatorship to Rome, after keeping him in prison for more than a year.
Related news: Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo commit crimes against humanity against the church, say UN experts
According to information released by researcher Molina, after his arrest on Friday, one day before the mass that the regime had already banned, Father Fruto was transferred to the capital, and once there, he was taken to the National Interdiocesan Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima.
He was held in the religious compound under orders not to leave, in a kind of seminary prison, a way of depriving priests of their freedom and keeping them under surveillance.
The lawyer said in her complaint that she fears the elderly priest was subjected to harsh interrogations and possibly even tortured during his transfer to Managua.
Following the release and exile of Bishops Álvarez and Isidoro Mora, along with 17 other religious figures, including priests and seminarians, Father Fruto is the first to be arrested by the regime in the midst of a merciless war waged by dictators Ortega and Murillo against Christianity.
Related news: Murillo calls exiled priests “the remains of history” in response to UN report denouncing their religious persecution
Recently, the United Nations (UN) Group of Experts on Human Rights for Nicaragua (GHREN) issued an update to its report on human rights violations in the country and concludes that in Nicaragua the dictatorship commits crimes against humanity against the Church.
The group of experts directly identifies Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo as the main perpetrators of these crimes against humanity and also points out that the Legislative Branch, the Judicial Branch, the National Police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of the Interior (now the Ministry of the Interior) are responsible for the violations, abuses and crimes against religion, all under the direct orders of the dictators.
