MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Opposition blames Nicaraguan regime for death of religious freedom advocate

The statement emphasized that Alonso had been a vocal advocate for religious freedom and was unjustly detained and held incommunicado until his death.

Nicaraguan opposition groups are holding the regime of Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, responsible for the death of Mauricio Alonso, who was allegedly “abducted” more than a month ago, it was reported in Managua on Monday.

The opposition group Renovadora Democrática Unión (Unamos) insisted that Alonso had been missing since July 18, 2025, and died while under the custody of the National Police. According to their account, masked individuals abducted Alonso and his son on that date, while his wife was released the same day. The family was later contacted by the forensic medical office to collect Alonso’s remains, though the cause of death remains undetermined.

The US Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter), expressing deep shock and condemning what it described as the “inhumanity of the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship.”

The statement emphasized that Alonso had been a vocal advocate for religious freedom and was unjustly detained and held incommunicado until his death.

Human rights organizations have urged the international community to take decisive action against the Nicaraguan government and to demand the immediate release of all political detainees.

Opposition leaders have characterized Alonso’s death as yet another instance of a peaceful dissident dying while imprisoned.