Washington D.C., Jan 31, 2024 / 14:05 pm
A Nicaraguan priest addressing the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C., under the cloak of anonymity described how the regime of President Daniel Ortega “arrested, insulted, beaten, [and] imprisoned” him.
“If I’m here, it’s not because I wanted to fly to Washington to enjoy three days off with paid travel,” the priest told the crowd from backstage, using a voice changer to alter the sound of his voice.
“No, I have done so while knowing that the lives of my family, of my loved ones, are in danger in Nicaragua, that in front of my family’s house there is a Sandinista Police patrol watching every movement, 24 hours a day,” the priest said.
“If I have agreed to come, even exposing them to any reprisals or revenge of the dictatorship, it is for two reasons: because I believe that there is a God who cares for us and because if we Christians, who believe in democracy, in freedom, in social justice, do nothing, no one else will,” he said.