Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime expels Father Reyes, escalating its persecution of the Catholic Church to 309 exiled clergy.
Newsroom (19/02/2026 Gaudium Press ) The government of Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has expelled yet another Catholic priest—Father José Concepción Reyes Mairena of the Diocese of León—continuing a relentless campaign against the country’s clergy. His forced departure raises the total number of religious figures expelled, exiled, or denied entry to 309, a figure that underscores the scale of the dictatorship’s assault on the Church.
Exiled researcher Martha Patricia Molina, author of “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” confirmed the number and said more than 95% of those banished are Nicaraguan nationals. Her research paints a stark picture: since 2018, the Ortega regime has perpetrated 1,070 documented attacks on the Catholic Church and banned 16,500 religious processions, numbers still climbing daily.
“The dictatorship speaks of love and reconciliation in their rhetoric, but their actions are not consistent with their words,” Molina told ACI Prensa. “They continue to attack the Catholic Church.”
A Priest Intercepted and Expelled
According to independent outlet Despacho 505, Father Concepción Reyes was intercepted last week at Managua International Airport upon returning from two years in Spain. Officials detained and interrogated him at length about his travels before denying him re-entry and sending him back to Spain.
A fellow priest from the León Diocese, who spoke anonymously, said Reyes had served as a seminary formator and was questioned about his purpose in returning. There was no mediation from the bishop of León, Sócrates René Sándigo Jirón, the only Nicaraguan prelate who participated in the controversial 2021 presidential election that extended Ortega’s rule. International observers widely dismissed that vote as a “farce.”
The Diocese of León did not respond to ACI Prensa’s request for comment.
A Church Without Successors
Molina warned that the crisis extends beyond expulsions. The regime has now barred new ordinations of priests and deacons in several dioceses—Jinotega, Matagalpa, Estelí, and Siuna—further paralyzing the Church’s pastoral life.
All four dioceses lack their resident bishops. Bishop Carlos Herrera of Jinotega, who served as president of the Episcopal Conference, was expelled in November 2024 after criticizing a regime-aligned mayor for disrupting Mass. Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí was deported to Rome in January 2024 following more than 18 months in detention. Bishop Isidoro Mora of Siuna suffered a similar fate, and Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Báez of Managua has lived in exile since 2019.
These displaced church leaders reunited in 2025, meeting in Rome with Pope Leo XIV to address the ongoing spiritual and humanitarian crisis facing Nicaragua’s faithful.
Voices from Exile: “Silence Also Kills”
Preaching earlier this month at St. Agatha Church in Miami, Bishop Silvio Báez delivered a searing homily condemning totalitarian regimes’ “many ways to take life and kill.” His words, broadcast online, reflected the anguish of an exiled church shepherd advocating for justice from afar.
“Complicit silence also kills,” Báez said. “To remain silent and not denounce injustice is to kill the dignity of individuals and the hope of nations.” He called the imprisonment, exile, and denigration of dissenters “homicidal actions” committed under the guise of order.
Báez himself was stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship, describing his condition as a “civil death.” “It’s as if I don’t exist,” he said. “But these crimes, like those against countless others, will be punished sooner or later.”
He ended his homily with a warning that echoed across borders: “These are real crimes, not mere irregularities. Those who have committed them must face justice.”
The expulsion of Father José Concepción Reyes Mairena underscores the systematic dismantling of the Catholic Church’s presence in Nicaragua. As the number of exiled clergy climbs and repression widens, the faithful are left with fewer shepherds and more fear, while the regime’s rhetoric of “love and reconciliation” rings increasingly hollow.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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