Salazar Demands Ortega-Murillo Regime Liberate Monsignor Álvarez, Cease Persecution of Nicaraguan Catholics
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Chairwoman María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) questioned U.S. Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain on the persecution of Catholics by the Ortega regime in Nicaragua.
“I send a message today to the Ortega-Murillo regime: If Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo were to release Monseñor Alvarez right now, the U.S. government will consider the possibility of not including the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional on the list of Entities of Particular Concern,” said Rep. Salazar.
Today, Global Human Rights Subcommittee Chair Chris Smith (R-NJ) held a hearing on the dire state of religious freedom around the world. The second panel questioned Rashad Hussain, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom in the U.S. State Department.
The Catholic Church published a report on the state of religious freedom in the world through their organization, Aid to the Church in Need. The report shows that among the socialist tyrants of Latin America, the Ortega regime stands out in its willingness to persecute their countrymen who profess the Christian faith. Salazar cited this report as a clear warning sign against inaction in the case of the Sandinista party and the Nicaraguan regime.
Currently, Nicaragua is included in the State Department’s Countries of Particular Concern. This list includes countries guilty of severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1990.
Though guilty of the same crimes, the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) or Sandinistas are not included in the list of Entities of Particular Concern, a similar list designed to identify organizations that suppress religious freedom. Appropriately, Salazar demanded the Sandinistas be included in this list.
BACKGROUND:
Almost three-quarters of Nicaraguans belong to the Catholic Church, registering more than 5 million faithful. There have been over 400 attacks on the Church in recent years. In 2018, police and paramilitaries went into Divine Mercy parish in Managua, locked in young protestors, and rained bullets on them. In 2020, a firebomb was thrown in Managua Cathedral, destroying the famous image of the Blood of Christ, a 382-year-old crucifix beloved by Nicaraguans.
Ortega also ordered the dissolution of hundreds of organizations and NGOs that serve the nation’s poorest, including nuns who worked with Mother Teresa. The regime recently ordered the closure of Catholic media outlets while breaking relations with the Vatican by expelling the Apostolic Nuncio.
Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, the Bishop of Matagalpa, was jailed by the Ortega regime in August 2022 for false crimes of "undermining national integrity and propagation of false news through information and communication technologies to the detriment of the State and Nicaraguan society." He has since become a symbol of Catholic resistance to Ortega's tyranny.
There are 450,000 Nicaraguan Americans living in the United States, and Congresswoman Salazar represents over 30,000 of them in Florida’s 27th congressional district.
You can view the full hearing here. For more info, visit Salazar.house.gov.
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