Over 4,000 police officers were sent to Nicaragua’s churches to prevent outdoor Holy Week processions, according to a report by the online Argentine news site Infobae.
“There were at least two police officers in each church, and in some churches several patrol cars arrived with special operations agents,” said Martha Patricia Molina, a human rights attorney.
Even as the Nicaraguan government cracked down on Holy Week processions, the nation’s vice president—Rosario Murillo, the wife of President Daniel Ortega—claimed in a radio address that the government was supporting popular Holy Week activities, in accord with “the way of Christ Jesus: love of neighbor, love among us, brotherhood, fraternity, and life with dignity.”