MIAMI, United States. – Pope Francis called the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in Nicaragua a “rude dictatorship”, in an interview with the Argentine media infobae.
The Supreme Pontiff made such statements after the sentence to 26 years and four months in prison of the Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who has been very critical of the Ortega regime.
“With great respect, I have no choice but to think about an imbalance in the person who directs [Ortega]. There we have a bishop in prison, a very serious man, very capable. He wanted to give his testimony and did not accept exile, ”said the pope.
Francisco added that the situation in Nicaragua was equivalent to “bringing in the communist dictatorship of 1917 or the Hitlerite dictatorship of 1935.” He defined them all as “gross dictatorships.”
The Supreme Pontiff also defined the situation in Nicaragua as “something that is outside of what we are experiencing.”
Bishop Álvarez was sentenced for the alleged crime of “treason” for provoking the fury of Daniel Ortega with his criticism.
Monsignor Álvarez refused to leave the country along with 222 other released Nicaraguan political prisoners who were expatriates, which provoked the fury of Ortega, who labeled him “arrogant”, “insane” and “energúmeno”.
Ortega has also accused the Church of being undemocratic for not allowing Catholics to elect the pope, cardinals, bishops and priests by direct vote.
Despite his harsh criticism of Ortega, Pope Francis is close to allies of the Nicaraguan regime. In mid-2022, the Supreme Pontiff revealed to the news network Univision that he had a “human” relationship with the dictator Raúl Castro.
The supreme pontiff also admitted having ties to the regime in Cuba, a country he has visited twice since becoming pope.
“I love the Cuban people very much, I love them very much and I had good human relations with the Cuban people. And also, I confess, I have a human relationship with Raúl Castro,” Francisco said.
