Bishop Silvio Báez left Nicaragua in the middle of death threats and hoped that "one day real peace will break out" in the country

The Auxiliary Bishop of Managua, Silvio BáezHe pleaded for the state of justice and peace in Nicaragua when he stepped down on Tuesday to go to the Vatican on the orders of Pope Francis after receiving death threats.

The religious, one of the most critical voices of Daniel Ortega's regime, expressed before traveling his wish that Nicaragua "One day, I will have a society based on social justice, from which a true peace will emerge, where ideological plurality is not a crime".

Dressed in a black suit, he was fired at the airport by a group of worshipers who took him in his arms and took him photos, while a philharmonic group was sung the song "Amigo" of the Brazilian Roberto Carlos.

"I am sad, the pain of leaving Nicaragua breaks my heart, but I am serene and at peace, knowing that I am always available to serve God and the Church", He said, a few minutes before getting on the plane.

Báez, one of the most active social networks, also expressed on Twitter: "I carry them in my heart and in my prayers! May the Lord bless you and bless Nicaragua!" Before leaving for Rome, Báez will spend a week with his family in Miami, he added.

Pope Francis has decided to move Báez to the Vatican after learning that he had been the victim of death threatsAlthough, in some political circles, his departure is considered a form of exile by one of the most severe critics of the Sandinista regime.

His criticisms became more visible after the outbreak of anti-government protests last April, whose brutal repression had left so far more than 325 dead, hundreds of incarcerated and 62,000 exiles.

"My heart is very hurt by those who have suffered, by the dead, repressed"said Baez.

He also mentioned hundreds of detainees for demonstrating like "my brothers" who are imprisoned for political reasons and one of the "greatest injuries after the dead due to repression".

The religious also left with the hope that the dialogue held by the government with the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy (ACJD) "can go forward (…) is the only peaceful issue ".

Negotiations have been suspended since April 3, after the parties failed to reach consensus on key issues of justice and democracy, including the anticipation of the 2021 elections.

"He will come back as soon as possible," said the ACJD member, Juan Sebastián Chamorro, who arrived at the airport to say goodbye and thanked Báez 's words to this diverse opposition alliance.

His last Mbad was celebrated on Easter Sunday in the parish of Our Lord of Esquipulas. There, he asked the faithful to always be on the side of the victims, to defend life and human dignity, and accused the regime, once again, of not showing its will to dialogue: "Dialogue is the only way out peaceful and can avoid worse consequences, but of course, to dialogue, the two parties must reach an agreement (…) But this government does not want to dialogue and never wanted to dialogue ".