In the midst of a questioned process, the dictatorship condemned to the Bishop of Matagalpa on February 10, 2023 to more than 26 years in prison, accusing him of “traitor to the country.” Since then, he has been held in the prison known as “La Modelo”, to which the regime’s political prisoners are sent.
Bishop Isidoro Mora was arrested by Nicaraguan authorities on December 20, 2023, amid a wave of regime kidnappings against Catholic priests that totaled more than 15 arrests in that month alone. Bishop Mora had celebrated Mass the day before in Matagalpa, where he had encouraged the faithful to pray for Bishop Rolando Álvarez.
In recent days, the Catholic Church’s calls for peace in Nicaragua have intensified. Pope Francis, on January 1, expressed his “concern” about the situation in the country, “where bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom.”