Nicaragua released imprisoned priests, but repression is unlikely to relent – and the Catholic Church remains a target

Nicaraguans attend mass in San Juan de Oriente on June 24, 2023. Stringer/AFP via Getty Images^[15]

Why target the church?

Ortega first led Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, after his left-wing revolutionary organization, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, or FSLN, spearheaded the overthrow of dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle. In the 1980s, the FSLN clashed with the Vatican^[16] and church hierarchy over the group’s socialist politics, even as many poorer Nicaraguan Catholics embraced them^[17].

When Ortega took office again in 2007, however, he did so with the blessing of Christian leaders^[18]. During the 2006 elections, he had turned to alliances with Catholic^[19] and Protestant elites^[20] to return to power^[21] in exchange for adopting^[22] conservative social policies like banning abortion^[23].

Over the next decade, Ortega remained popular^[24], presiding over economic growth in collaboration with business leaders^[25] and developing new public infrastructure and services.

Yet he and the FSLN party he controlled^[26] were also consolidating power^[27] and governing in an increasingly authoritarian^[28] manner. Ortega won reelection in 2011^[29] and then retained power in fraudulent elections^[30] in 2016. Opposition candidates were disqualified, and Ortega’s running mate was his wife, Rosario Murillo^[31].

Unexpectedly^[32], Ortega’s popularity and his relationship with the church came crashing down in April 2018, when the government announced cutbacks in social security benefits for retirees. Nicaraguans from all backgrounds^[33] took to the streets^[34], and Ortega and Murillo responded with a furious crackdown^[35], unleashing police and pro-government paramilitaries armed with military-grade weapons^[36].

Cathedrals and churches tried to^[37] offer refuge^[38] to protesters, but over 300 people were killed^[39]. Church leaders facilitated a national dialogue between the government and an opposition coalition, but withdrew^[40] as repression continued^[41].

When popular Catholic leaders criticized violence^[42] against protesters, the regime began viewing the church as a rival^[43] threatening Ortega’s waning legitimacy. Police, paramilitaries and FSLN supporters started harassing and attacking^[44] clergy and Catholic institutions^[45].

In 2019, the pope recalled Silvio Báez^[46], the auxiliary bishop of Managua and a prominent critic of Ortega, from Nicaragua. Yet other bishops and priests still found themselves in the regime’s crosshairs^[47].

Nicaraguan citizens in Costa Rica demonstrate in front of the Nicaraguan Embassy in August 2022 to protest the detention of Bishop Rolando Alvarez. Oscar Navarrete/AFP via Getty Images^[48]

Some fled into exile^[49] or were blocked from entering^[50] Nicaragua if they traveled abroad. Others who stayed were kept under surveillance. Priests who expressed support for political prisoners or continued to criticize the regime, even in vague terms, could be arrested or beaten^[51].

The government expelled 12 formerly detained priests to the Vatican in October 2023^[52] after what the regime called “fruitful conversations^[53].” But Álvarez, the highest-profile political prisoner, was still held by the government and was stripped of his citizenship after refusing to go into exile^[54] in February 2023.

Broader patterns of repression

Attacks on the church are a symptom^[55] of the Ortega regime’s absolute intolerance for dissent.

With over 3,000 nongovernmental organizations^[56] shut down^[57] since 2018, the church has become Nicaragua’s only major nonstate institution^[58] with nationwide reach.

In a country where over 40% of the people^[59] identify as Catholic, many normally turn to the church in times of need^[60]. Suppressing Catholic institutions means Nicaraguans must turn to the state for aid, which monitors citizens^[61] and has been accused of denying^[62] services for perceived disloyalty.

At least 27^[63] Catholic and secular universities^[64] have also been closed or seized^[65] by the government, as have more than 50^[66] media outlets^[67].

T-shirts depicting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega for sale in Managua in July 2023. Oswaldo Rivas/AFP via Getty Images^[68]

The government’s decision to expel clergy on Jan. 14 is also in line with its tendency to either block opponents’ reentry^[69] into Nicaragua or force them into exile^[70]. In many cases, Nicaragua has then revoked critics’ citizenship, as when it expelled 222 political prisoners in February 2023^[71] to the United States.

When imprisonment or threats have not shaken critics’ resolve, Ortega and Murillo appear to have decided that keeping them abroad is best^[72]. Not only does this reduce the risks of anti-regime action in Nicaragua, but it may diminish international scrutiny of political prisoners’ mistreatment^[73].

Cautious criticism

Since 2018, repression in Nicaragua has come in waves, with the brutal violence that repressed the protests shifting toward an environment^[74] of constant surveillance^[75], legal actions against independent institutions and opponents, and periodic arrests. Moments of seeming calm, however, have often been followed by harsh crackdowns^[76], such as a slew of arrests^[77] ahead of the 2021 elections^[78].

Even as repression has mounted, the Vatican has been cautious^[79] about criticizing Ortega and Murillo, and some Nicaraguans and Catholics abroad^[80] have urged the pope to do more^[81]. Yet the Vatican’s restraint has not appeared to decrease threats against clergy^[82] or limits on activities like religious processions^[83].

In January 2024, however, Francis pointedly called attention to the crisis^[84] during two speeches, days after a dozen priests^[85] were arrested. One week later came the release of Álvarez and his colleagues – free to leave Nicaragua, but not to come back.

Catholic leaders remain Nicaragua’s most popular figures^[86], according to independent polling. This makes them a continued threat to Ortega and Murillo’s quest for total control^[87]. Ezequiel Buenfil Batún, the priest detained Jan. 16, belonged to a religious order whose legal status was revoked^[88] that same day, along with several other nongovernment organizations.

As many Nicaraguans lose hope^[89] of conditions improving and dozens of political prisoners remain jailed^[90], any positive news like the priests’ release is welcome. But it holds no guarantees of broader change ahead.

Authors: Kai M. Thaler, Assistant Professor of Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

Read more https://theconversation.com/nicaragua-released-imprisoned-priests-but-repression-is-unlikely-to-relent-and-the-catholic-church-remains-a-target-221076

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