The regime of Daniel and Ortega Murillo, through the Nicaraguan Telecommunications Institute (Telcor), ordered Claro Nicaragua to remove Canal Católico, the official media outlet of the country’s Catholic Church, from its grill.
In a brief statement through the Facebook page, Claro reported this Thursday, May 20, the decision to remove Channel 51 from its cable programming, whose programming is exclusively religious.
Related news: Rosario Murillo says that opponents and priests “live in a world of fantasies and lies”
“In response to the provisions contained in the Code of Commercial Practices of ENITEL, Chapter II, Section X, subparagraphs a and d, which provide for the obligation of the operator to report changes in channels offered, we inform our subscription television users that due to indications of TELCOR, Regulatory Entity, channel 51, Canal Católico, is being removed from the service’s programming grid.
This new attack by the Ortega dictatorship comes after reports of persecution and harassment against religious leaders, which intensified this third week of May.
Recently the Police have initiated a wave of siege against Catholic priests, among them is the father Harvey Padilla, parish priest of the San Juan Bautista church in Masaya, Father Uriel Vallejo, parish priest in Sébaco, Matagalpa, and from Thursday, May 19, Monsignor Roland Alvarez, Bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa.
The decision to remove Canal Católico from the cable signal comes after the vice president of Nicaragua, Rosario Murillo, through her propaganda media once again ranted against the opposition and religious leaders, stating that they live in a world of “fantasies and lies, that’s why nobody believes them anymore».
Related news: Monsignor Rolando Álvarez: “They want the Church to stop talking”
«The damage is done by those who believe themselves to be powerful due to different circumstances and pave paths of human misery, above that human misery they have not learned to live creating, to live transcending and live being loyal to the blessed country, to Jesus Christ and to our glorious people of Nicaragua,” said the government spokeswoman.
The catholic channel has seven years of transmission in the cable system through the signal of the channel 51 and is, together with the Catholic Radio, the official television medium of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua (CEN).
This religious media did not have publicity, it was maintained thanks to the support of the Catholic congregation, however it will cease to function by order of Daniel Ortega.
Since 2018, communication between the Catholic Church and the Nicaraguan government has not been the best. After the attempt at national dialogue, after the social protests, where the highest religious authorities were mediators, the Ortega regime became enemy number one of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, whom it has branded as “satanic”, “terrorists” and “promoters of hate.”
Article 66 He tried to communicate with Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes and with the administration of Canal Católico to find out if they were already aware of Claro’s decision, but contact could not be established.
