The war unleashed by the dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo against the Catholic Church, intensified since 2018, has devastated the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua (CEN), reducing its clergy by half. In addition, nearly a thousand direct attacks have been documented, which include desecration of temples, threats and attacks on priests, as well as the banishment and exile of more than 160 religious.
The sixth update of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?”, prepared from exile by lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, details the attacks against the religious institution since 2018, when the Ortega-Murillo regime began its offensive against the Catholic clergy. in retaliation for his support of protesters who had been demanding the end of the dictatorship since April of that year.
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Molina’s report indicates that the attacks against the Church have been incessant. Furthermore, he highlights that the regime has constantly crossed new limits of aggression. According to the lawyer, “when it is believed that Sandinismo has already crossed all limits, a new aggression appears, which shows that the Ortega-Murillo family only perfects the damage to the religious institution.”
Between 2018 and 2024, the regime has carried out 971 documented attacks against the Catholic Church. The most violent year was 2023, with 321 attacks, although Molina points out that 2024 has been even worse, since many religious did not report the attacks for fear of reprisals.
The Archdiocese of Managua was the most affected jurisdiction, with 301 incidents recorded. In second place, 206 attacks directed at the Church as an institution were documented, followed by 186 attacks in the Diocese of Matagalpa, 79 in the Diocese of Estelí, 73 in the Diocese of Granada and 58 in the Diocese of León.
After suffering a stroke, the young Nicaraguan Maryin Edemia Barrera Arce, 30 years old and originally from Cinco Pinos, Chinandega, died on December 18 in the United States, according to the organization that supports Nicaraguan migrants, Community of Nicaraguans in Texas ( TNC, for its acronym in English).
According to the information received by TNC, the girl suffered the stroke and was transferred to a care center in Texas, where she was declared brain dead.
The young Chinandegana had migrated to the United States with her two daughters in search of better living conditions, however, fate overtook her and her two girls were left orphaned in the United States.
Related news: A young woman from Cinco Pinos, Chinandega, dies in the United States
So far in 2024, which is nearing the end, TNC has reported at least 163 migrants who have died on US soil or en route there. Only in the first 19 days of December, seven deaths have been reported through the humanitarian organization.
A statistical analysis carried out by Article 66 of the deaths of unique migrants in the United States, based on reports made by TNC, indicates that, as of November 30, 156 compatriots had been reported dead in those lands.
