Nicaragua Expels Bishop Carlos Herrera Amid Church Crackdown

Nicaragua's government has expelled Bishop Carlos Herrera, the head of the episcopal conference, amid an ongoing crackdown on the Catholic Church. The 75-year-old bishop was sent to Guatemala after he criticized a local Sandinista mayor for disrupting Mass with loud music, calling the actions sacrilegious. Martha Molina, a lawyer linked to the Church, labeled the expulsion as part of a broader persecution by President Daniel Ortega's regime, which has intensified since 2018 anti-government protests. This marks the fourth bishop to be exiled under Ortega's administration, which has previously targeted clergy and shuttered Catholic media. Herrera's expulsion follows allegations that local officials have been harassing religious services, contributing to an atmosphere of fear and repression within the Church. The government has not publicly commented on the expulsion or the events leading to it.