“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.”