Category: Nicaragua

‘I knew I had no choice’: An interview with Nicaraguan exile Santos Julio Sevilla Rivera

Posted on by cswpress in Latin America, Nicaragua

‘The guards told us not to pray. We did it in silence because God heard us.’

Santos Julio Sevilla Rivera was born in San Sebastián de Yalí, Jinotega, Nicaragua on 9 January 1969. He was born with an irreversible visual impairment due to severe advanced myopia. His vision was very limited even with corrective lenses, but this did not prevent him from being very active, cheerful and well-known in his community.  

He moved to Estelí in 1983 because of the armed conflict between the government of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and the insurgent groups known as the Contras, In 1998 he was invited to a spiritual retreat by Father Sixto Muñoz Ilario Rodriguez. The experience was very positive and inspired him to become involved in volunteer service to the Catholic Church through music. He volunteered in four parishes, primarily in the Saint Francis of Assisi parish. He formed friendships with the local priests, and he dedicated himself to supporting the choir committedly. 

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As hard as it may be to hold the Nicaraguan government to account, the world has not forgotten Pastor Efren Antonio Vílchez López

Posted on by cswpress in Latin America, Nicaragua

‘They closed the embassy around three or four years ago but didn’t really tell anyone.’

I think I actually laughed when I heard it. I was standing in the reception of a building I was just then discovering was the former site of the Nicaraguan Embassy in London, having made an hour and a half journey to Kensington to deliver a letter calling for the release of Protestant Pastor Efren Antonio Vílchez López.

From the way the receptionist explained it I got the sense that this sort of thing had happened before, which lessened but did not entirely eliminate the embarrassment on my part. Some frantic Googling revealed that while, yes, there were some mentions of the closure online – particularly if you added ‘closed’ to your search terms – most results listed the address as the building I was now standing disgruntledly outside, with the panel that pops up when you search for these things still listing its opening hours as 11am-4pm Monday to Friday.

Continue reading “As hard as it may be to hold the Nicaraguan government to account, the world has not forgotten Pastor Efren Antonio Vílchez López” →

Claims of freedom of religion or belief in Nicaragua are greatly exaggerated

Posted on by cswpress in Latin America, Nicaragua

On 2 April, during a Maundy Thursday Chrism Mass, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes addressed hundreds of Roman Catholic Church leaders who had filled the Metropolitan Cathedral in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua. He delivered a full sermon, but one particular quote of his was seized upon by Sputnik World, a Russian state-owned news agency:

‘People have been able to approach their churches with complete generosity, with complete freedom, and are living their faith. I believe that is the most important thing.’

The next day – Good Friday – the state-controlled media outlet Canal 4 Nicaragua shared a photo of the cardinal leading a procession outside a church on its Facebook page. The post generated 248 comments, among which the following stood out, each receiving dozens of likes:

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Bridging the gap: The importance of finding common ground between religious groups and secular human rights organisations 

Posted on by cswpress in Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua

Oppressive governments depend, in part, on two things: unity among those who support them and divisions within the communities that do not. One of the greatest challenges in addressing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in countries where that right is regularly violated is bridging divisions between different groups within the religious sector, as well as the gap that often exists between the religious sector and secular human rights and other independent civil society organisations. 

Religious groups often occupy a unique position within larger independent civil society. They are networked and organised, to different extents, with members who regularly attend and participate in their activities. They often possess a dedicated physical space, where they are able to hold their activities with minimal outside interference. Some religious groups will run outward focused activities, providing social services. In many cases, religious leaders not only hold a significant decree of influence within their respective community – they may also be perceived as moral adjudicators more widely even by people who do not share their religious beliefs.  

Oppressive regimes are sensitive to the danger posed to them by a socially engaged religious sector and outspoken religious leaders who are willing to work hand in hand with larger civil society in defending civil and political rights. Division, therefore, is deliberately encouraged and stoked, often by intelligence and security agencies, with the goal of neutralising or coopting organised independent civil society, including the religious sector.  

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Pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas dared to speak out against injustice in Nicaragua. For that he has been labelled a murderer and a terrorist. 

Posted on by cswpress in Latin America, Nicaragua

On the evening of Thursday 17 July, armed police officers – some in uniform and others dressed in black or blue and with their faces covered – arrived in a coordinated operation at the homes of Pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas and several of his friends and family in Jinotepe Municipality, Carazo Department, Nicaragua. 

The police, who did not show any arrest warrants, broke down the doors of each house using their rifle butts and a tool called a ‘pig’s foot’ before proceeding to arrest Pastor Palacios Vargas, his sister Jéssica Palacios Vargas and brothers-in-law Pedro José López and Armando José Bermudez. Mauricio Alonso Petri, a political activist and friend of the pastor, and his adult son of the same name, who is a part of the worship team at Pastor Palacios Vargas’ church were detained as well. Family friend Olga María Lara Rojas, a former political councillor, who is a Protestant Christian but not a member of Pastor Palacios Vargas’ church, was also arrested at her home. 

The officers confiscated the detainees’ cell phones and other electrical devices and were reported to have taken them to the 3rd Police District, though the authorities initially refused to provide their family members with any information as to their whereabouts. 

Continue reading “Pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas dared to speak out against injustice in Nicaragua. For that he has been labelled a murderer and a terrorist. “ →