The Wall Street Journal
MONIMBÓ, Nicaragua—The Rev. César Augusto Gutiérrez delivered an impassioned plea to a Spanish radio station last week as hundreds of elite police and paramilitary forces stormed his parish here in a hail of bullets.
“They are defiling the churches,” Father Gutierrez said before breaking down in tears as he pleaded for international support. “The government is killing us.”
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Scene on Friday at the Church of Divine Mercy in Managua. Nicaragua’s bishops have scheduled a month of prayer and atonement, with special Friday masses to exorcise the evils that plague the country.
The image of Christ, below, is now marked by three bullet holes from a raid by paramilitary forces on July 13.
Paramilitary groups in Monimbó, Nicaragua, after government security forces and their allies moved in against protesters last week.
Monimbó was the heart of an uprising against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega; paramilitary forces patrolled the town last week.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, center in cap, waves to supporters celebrating the 39th anniversary of the victory of his Sandinista revolution. Mr. Ortega used the speech to denounce opposition forces calling for his ouster.
Azucena López (center) weeps over the death of her son Erick Jiménez, who was killed when pro-Ortega groups attacked protesters in Monimbó.
Family and friends during the funeral procession of Erick Jiménez on Wednesday.
Bullet holes from a siege last week mark a wall of the Church of Divine Mercy in Managua, Nicaragua.