Father Marcos Somarriba attacked the Daniel Ortega regime for its repression, cult of power, and political use of religion.
Newsroom (05/08/2025 Gaudium Press ) Father Marcos Somarriba, pastor of St. Agatha Church, unleashed a blistering rebuke of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s regime during his Sunday homily, condemning its reliance on repression, religious manipulation, and the deification of authoritarian figures. Speaking to a congregation largely composed of Nicaraguan exiles, Somarriba’s remarks came days after the Sandinista government declared the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez a “saint” and likened him to a “resurrected” Jesus Christ.
“Being a toad doesn’t guarantee you a place in the puddle,” Somarriba said, targeting those who believe loyalty to oppressive regimes secures their status or safety. “Everyone is replaceable. Anyone who has been a snitch and continues to be one is not guaranteed a place with these people,” he warned from the pulpit, his voice resonating with moral urgency.
Somarriba sharply criticized the regime’s exploitation of religion for political ends, denouncing the veneration of “false idols.” “Many cling to superstitions and manipulations of deities. They call anyone a saint, compare them to the resurrected Jesus Christ, and call them saviors, when they have only been vain and foolish mortals,” he declared. He emphasized that true legacy lies in acts of goodness, stating, “The legacy that truly matters is the good you do for others. Only that brings true peace and rest.”
The priest also took aim at wealth amassed through corruption, warning that it offers no lasting security. “Those who have usurped power and lined their pockets with stolen goods have their days numbered. They suffer, they live in insecurity, they don’t even trust their own shadow,” he said.
Somarriba’s homily coincided with reports of internal purges within Ortega’s regime. Following the July 19 celebrations marking the Sandinista revolution, Ortega ordered surveillance of suspected “conspirators,” threatening imprisonment. Days later, Bayardo Arce, the president’s economic advisor, was arrested, while Lenín Cerna, former head of State Security, remains missing. For Somarriba, these events underscore the disposability of even the regime’s most loyal allies. “They are manipulated while they are useful, and discarded when they become a nuisance. They are all replaceable, substitutable,” he said.
Concluding with a biblical reference, Somarriba underscored the fleeting nature of earthly power, quoting the Gospel: “God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will die. Whose possessions will they be?’ So it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and does not gain what he is worth in God’s sight.”
Somarriba’s words struck a chord with his congregation, many of whom fled Nicaragua’s escalating repression. His homily served as both a spiritual exhortation and a bold indictment of a regime increasingly isolated on the global stage.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from 100%noticias
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