Nicaraguan bishop Rolando Álvarez, sentenced to 26 years in prison for "treason against the homeland", was released by the government headed by Daniel Ortega and is under the protection of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, a diplomatic source informed EFE on Wednesday.

Álvarez, bishop of the diocese of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of the diocese of Estelí, was removed from the National Penitentiary System, the maximum security prison in the country and known as "La Modelo", where he had been held since February 9 after refusing to be deported to the United States and is under the protection of the Episcopate, said the source.

His release, according to the source, took place thanks to negotiations between the Nicaraguan government, the Vatican and the Episcopate, which are now discussing the future of the high official.

In the talks is the possibility that Bishop Álvarez will be sent to Rome or exile, or be returned to prison if he refuses, he said.

”Monsignor Rolando Álvarez does not want to leave Nicaragua. He wants to be free, without conditions, in his country, ”the Honduran bishop José Antonio Canales, who has followed up on the situation of his colleague, wrote on his social network.

LULA’S ROLE 
The release of the Nicaraguan Catholic leader comes two weeks after Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva announced in Rome, that he would try to convince Ortega to release Bishop Álvarez.

Lula then explained that the only thing the Catholic Church in Nicaragua wants is for Bishop Álvarez to be released so that he can travel to Italy and described his imprisonment as "a mistake".

"I will speak with Ortega so that they can give him freedom because it is necessary to learn to ask for forgiveness (...) and recognize this mistake," Lula, who then met with Pope Francis for 45 minutes in the Vatican.