Human rights groups have accused Ortega of attacking Catholic Church leaders following protests and an attempted coup in 2018
Daniel Ortega and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
247 President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in an interview with Rádio Gaúcha this Thursday (29) that he would speak to Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega to discuss the situation of the Catholic Church in the Central American country in light of the recent arrests by religious leaders.
“We have a problem in Nicaragua, I’m going to talk to the President of Nicaragua because I have a relationship to talk to because I think the problems with the church need to be resolved. But every country has its own destiny,” President Lula said.
Human rights groups have accused Ortega of attacking Catholic Church leaders following protests and an attempted coup in 2018, while Ortega points to the church’s role in the unrest. According to the president, some priests in the country called on the faithful to stage a coup, spoke of the capture of military units and demanded the physical elimination of Ortega himself.
In March, Nicaragua severed diplomatic relations with the Vatican. Tensions between Ortega’s leftist government and the Catholic Church escalated in April after a court in Managua sentenced Bishop Rolando Alvarez to more than 26 years in prison for attempts to undermine national integrity. Pope Francis called Nicaragua a “dictatorship”.
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