The police arrested two Nicaraguan priests, Fr. Leonel Balmaceda and Fr. Denis Martínez, on August 10 and 11. Shortly after their arrest, they were expelled by the order of the Ortega government and were sent to Rome. Fr. Balmaceda is a parish priest at Jesús de Caridad Church, and Fr. Martínez is a formator at the interdiocesan seminary, Nuestra Señora de Fátima. Both of their dioceses are administered by Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was exiled from Nicaragua and resides in the Vatican since January 2024.

Media, independent from the Nicaraguan government, reported the expulsion of the priests just as the release of Fr. Danny García, the parish priest of San Juan Bautista Church. He was arrested on August 15, and after his release, he left the country.

With Fr. Balmaceda and Fr. Martínez expelled, the number of religious figures forced to leave Nicaragua reached 245 since 2018. This includes the Apostolic Nuncio to Nicaragua, Archbishop Waldemar Sommertag, three bishops, 136 priests, three deacons, eleven seminarians, and 91 religious women or men. Furthermore, 19 of them were named traitors, and their Nicaraguan citizenship was revoked.

Source: Vatican News

Photo: TV Brasil – EBC