The Bishop of Matagalpa, a well-known defender of human rights and critic of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, and his wife and vice president Rosario Murillo, were forced to remain confined inside their episcopal house since the beginning of August 2022, along with some priests, seminarians and a layman.
Two weeks later, they were almost out of food supplies, the Nicaraguan police broke into the house and kidnapped Mons. Álvarez to Managua, the country’s capital, where he was under house arrest.
In the midst of a questioned process, the dictatorship sentenced him 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 The modelto which the regime’s political prisoners are sent.