Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, Bishop of Matagalpa diocese and apostolic administrator of Estelí diocese, will stand trial for allegedly plotting against the regime; The trial date has not yet been determined. He has also been ordered to remain under house arrest.
During a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, January 11, 2023, Bishop José Álvarez was indicted on "the crime of conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the nation and the spread of false information through technology." information and communication harmful to the state and society of Nicaragua.”
The judge also confirmed the arrest warrant for Father Uriel Antonio Vallejos, pastor of Jesús de la Divina Misericordia parish in Sébaco, who is currently living in exile, on the same charges.
Bishop Álvarez is the first Nicaraguan bishop to be arrested and prosecuted since President Daniel Ortega returned to power in the country in 2007. He was arrested by police on August 19 last year (2022). , along with priests, seminarians and lay people, after being detained for 15 days at the bishop's house for allegedly trying to "organize violent groups" with "the aim of destabilizing the State". Nicaragua and attacking the constitutional organs.” The bishop was then transferred to his residence in Managua and placed under house arrest, while the others were taken to the police station in the capital.
The charges against Bishop Álvarez come amid strained relations between the Catholic Church and Ortega's Sandinista government, which began in April 2018, when the Central American nation was rocked by protests Mass protests against controversial government reforms. President Ortega accused the bishops of complicity in an alleged coup.