Daniel Ortega, the President of Nicaragua, has accused bishops of stirring up unrest in the country, comparing them to “satanical criminals”.
Speaking at a rally to mark the 39th anniversary of the revolution that brought him the power, Ortega said protesters against his government were being financed by a “North American empire” and that bishops who were attempted to mediate were “behaving like coup plotters”.
More than 280 people have been killed in three months of protests across the country, most of them young protesters. The country was formerly one of the most stable in Central America.
