After a four-day siege of the San Juan Bautista church in Masaya, the Police at the service of the Ortega regime abandoned the place, as reported to Article 66 sources close to Father Harving Padilla, parish priest of the religious temple.
The withdrawal of the police officers occurred 10 hours after —Wednesday, May 18— the opponent and former political prisoner was arbitrarily detained Yubrank Suazo blacksmith, currently imprisoned “under investigation” in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance (DAJ), in Managua.
Related news: Parish priest Harvin Padilla denounces that the regime “has closed many institutions, now they continue with the church”
“Since 3:30 in the afternoon yesterday (May 18) the Police withdrew,” the source explained on condition of anonymity. Regarding the presence of paramilitaries, she asserted that “apparently” they do not look like the previous days.
This media outlet tried to contact Father Harving Padilla to find out his reaction to the sudden withdrawal of the agents of the Ortega dictatorship, however, he did not answer the phone calls.
Although the causes of the police siege are unknown, a source stated that the presence of agents was due to their belief that Suazo was inside the temple.
In a recent interview, Padilla denounced the presence of police patrols in collusion with people dressed in civilian clothes and at night the presence of riot police, who had been stalking the priest since Saturday, May 14.
Related news: Police surround the church of the parish priest Harvin Padilla in Masaya
“Many human rights institutions that are on the side of the poor, the marginalized, the elderly have closed, now they continue with the church,” Padilla said, in an interview with Article 66.
“They —the Ortega government— have made a law at their convenience that supposedly they are going to prosecute us, one of our superiors said that if they have any evidence to prove it, but the evidence must be convincing and not invented, do not take it out of the illusions of themselves.
“Until now our church in Nicaragua has worked for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the gospel of Jesus Christ invites us to look out for the unprotected, for the marginalized, for the needy, that is the work that we carry out as priests and illuminate sinners so that they can see which is the right path”, denounced the parish priest.
Harving Padilla is one of the Catholic priests who has suffered the most siege by Daniel Ortega’s regime. Sandinista fanatics have linked him to the murder of a police officer on June 15, 2018 during social protests in the city of Masaya.
