Washington increases pressure on Ortega

The United States escalates pressure on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, accusing him of leading a "war" against the Catholic Church, mediator in the dialogue to resolve the conflict that has caused 448 dead in one hundred days.

US Vice President Mike Pence discusses the crisis in Nicaragua at a ceremony on religious freedom in the State Department and before representatives of 80 countries, including several Latin Americans such as Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Honduras. "In Nicaragua, President Ortega's government is virtually waging a war against the Catholic Church," said the politician.

Pence praised the work of the Catholic Church in the national dialogue and criticized attacks on bishops by paramilitaries favorable to the Ortega government and operating with the consent of the national police, according to organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)

"Army-backed mobs armed with machetes and even heavy weapons attacked parishes and ecclesiastical property. physically badaulted bishops and priests. "

The Vice President recognized Father Raúl Zamora, who was in the public and whom he called" hero of faith "for sheltering this month in his parish. Divina Misericordia to students fleeing repression at the National University of Nicaragua (UNAN), one of the hotbeds of protests against Ortega.

"Let me tell you father," said Pence, "our prayers are with you, and the people The United States are with you for your religious freedom and for freedom in Nicaragua."

DIALOGUE

This summit on religious liberty, the first organized by an American government, served to support the Church's task as an impartial mediator in the dialogue between the Nicaraguan authorities and the United States. Opposition Civic Alliance, which brings together civil society and the private sector.

At the meeting, Mark Green, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), spoke of the persecution suffered by some religious and quoted the statements of the Auxiliary Bishop of Managua, Silvio Báez, who said this month that Ortega had crossed "the inhuman and immoral limit."

"He is right." We can not to be indifferent and we should not be indifferent, especially because we believe in religious freedom, "Green told an audience of representatives from different countries and members of international organizations such as the UN. or the European Union. He attributes violence to the attempts of countries – such as the United States – to overthrow him and call the "coup d'etat" of bishops for having proposed to advance until 2019 the elections scheduled for 2021.

Washington revokes twenty visas In addition, three senior Nicaraguan officials were sanctioned near Ortega, including the head of the national police, Francisco Díaz.