NICARAGUA: Full-scale crackdown on Catholic and Protestant communities
Excerpts of USCIRF Report
Arrest, imprisonment, and exile of members of the Catholic Church
USCIRF (24.07.2024) – The Nicaraguan government’s campaign to arrest, imprison, and exile Catholic clergy and laypeople, or those perceived to be Catholic, continued throughout 2023 and persisted into 2024. In April 2023, police arrested Jimmy Antonio Bonilla and Emmanuel Gutiérrez for participating in a Catholic Holy Week procession. In May, police arrested Father Eugenio Rodríguez Benavides, Father Leonardo Guevara Gutiérrez, and Father Jaime Iván Montesinos Sauceda. In June, authorities arrested Freylin Axarael Moreno Ponce after he asked for prayers for Bishop Álvarez on social media. In July, the government arrested Father Fernando Zamora Silva. In August, police arrested Alex Javier Gómez Bustos and Evelyn Guillén for displaying a poster asking for Bishop Álvarez’s freedom during patron saint festivities. Also in August, the police arrested former Catholic university students Adela Tercero and Gabriela Morales.
Between September and October, the government arrested nine more members of the Catholic Church. Those detained include Father Osman José Amador Guillén, who was known to pray for Bishop Rolando Álvarez, Father Álvaro Toledo, who spoke out about the government’s wrongful imprisonment of priests, and Father Yesner Cipriano Pineda Meneses, who was arrested alongside laypeople Salvador Paguaga and María Asunción Salgado while they were observing the Virgin of the Rosary. On October 18, the Ortega-Murillo government exiled most of the clergymen detained since May 2023 to the Vatican. The laypeople arrested remain arbitrarily detained.
In the days leading up to and following Christmas 2023, the authorities conducted an additional wave of arbitrary detention, imprisoning many more clergymen and laypeople. On November 29, the authorities arrested Freddy Quezada, a professor who criticized the government’s treatment of Bishop Álvarez. On December 20, the police arrested Bishop Isidro Mora after he reportedly offered prayers for Bishop Álvarez. Two seminarians, Alester Sáenz and Tony Palacios, were arrested alongside Bishop Mora. On December 24, the government wrongfully sentenced six former Caritas of Estelí employees to six years’ imprisonment on dubious money laundering charges. On December 26, the police arrested Father Pablo Villafranca, who was known to pray for Bishop Álvarez. On December 28, police arrested Father Héctor Treminio, Father Fernando Calero, Father Carlos Avilés, and Vicar Marcos Díaz Prado. On or around December 29, the police arrested
Vicar Silvio Fonseca, who criticized the government’s religious freedom violations, as well as Father Mykel Moterrey, Father Raúl Zamora, Father Jader Hernández, Father Ervin López, and Father Miguel Mántica. On or around December 30, the police arrested Father Gerardo Rodríguez. On January 1, 2024, the police arrested Carlos Alberto Bojorge Martínez after he yelled “Long live the Catholic Church!” when the mass he was attending concluded. On January 2, the police arrested seminarian Francisco Odorico Castilblanco.
On January 14, some of the clergymen and seminarians arrested during the Christmas crackdown were exiled to the Vatican. The laypeople remain arbitrarily detained.
In January 2024, Nicaragua exiled Bishop Rolando Álvarez to the Vatican. Police arrested Bishop Álvarez at his home in August 2022 after he criticized the government’s human rights record and its closure of several Catholic radio stations. At the same time, the police arrested Father Ramiro Tijerino, Father Sadiel Eugarrios, Father José Luis Díaz, deacon Raúl Antonio Vega, seminarian Darvin Leiva, seminarian Melkin Sequeira, and cameraman Sergio Cárdenas. In February 2023, those arrested alongside Álvarez were wrongfully convicted of conspiracy to undermine national integrity and spreading false news, sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, stripped of their citizenship, and then swiftly exiled to the United States.
Persecution of Protestants : Arrests, imprisonments and the shuttering of religious organizations
In December 2023, the Nicaraguan government arrested 11 pastors affiliated with the Mountain Gateway Ministry. They also attempted to arrest three U.S. citizens affiliated with the ministry. The Ortega-Murillo regime canceled Mountain Gateway Ministry’s legal status, falsely alleging that the arrested pastors engaged in money laundering.
In March 2024, the 11 arrested pastors were convicted of money laundering, and each was sentenced to either 12 or 15 years’ imprisonment and fined $80 million. During the pastors’ trials, reports indicate that they were unable to meet with their lawyers and that their lawyers were unable to access case files. The Ortega-Murillo regime has harassed leaders and parishioners of the primarily Indigenous Moravian Church through threats, conspicuous monitoring of their religious services and places of worship, and acts of vandalism.
The Nicaraguan government has also shuttered and seized property from Protestant organizations. In May 2023, the Ortega-Murillo regime canceled the legal status of the ENLACE Christian Foundation, which was affiliated with Evangelical media outlets. In the same month, the Nicaraguan government shuttered and seized the property of Verbo Christian Missionary Association, an Evangelical organization that provided humanitarian relief to local populations. In July, the Evangelical University of Martin Luther King was ordered to close and its property was seized. In October, the Ortega-Murillo regime canceled the legal status of multiple Evangelical organizations at once. In June 2024, the government arbitrarily imposed exorbitant fines on more than 20 Evangelical pastors and threatened to open criminal investigations against those who did not pay. Throughout 2024, the Nicaraguan government has continued to shutter Protestant organizations in waves of cancelations, including in January, February, March, and May.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Deteriorating Religious Freedom Conditions in Nicaragua
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM ET/ Washington Time
Virtual
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual hearing on deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Nicaragua and suggested policy options for the U.S. government.
Since 2018, the Nicaraguan government has severely restricted freedom of religion or belief. Catholic clergymen and laypeople have been arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned, and exiled. Catholic charitable and educational organizations have been shuttered on false allegations of money laundering and failure to properly register with authorities. Uniformed and plain clothes officers routinely monitor, harass, and intimidate worshipers during peaceful religious processions. The government has targeted Evangelical pastors as well, sentencing 11 such pastors in March 2024 to imprisonment on spurious money laundering charges. In addition, religious leaders and worshipers in Indigenous communities, including members of the Moravian Church, face harassment and intimidation for peacefully practicing their faith.
Witnesses will discuss Nicaragua’s repressive governance framework and the authorities’ severe crackdown against the Catholic, Protestant, and Indigenous religious communities. They will also explore further policy options for the U.S. government to foster improved religious freedom conditions in the country to help stem the relentless persecution of religious communities in Nicaragua beyond holding government officials accountable for religious freedom violations.
Opening Remarks
- Stephen Schneck, Chair, USCIRF
- Maureen Ferguson, Commissioner, USCIRF
Panel
- Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Felix Maradiaga, Trustee, Freedom House and Exiled Nicaraguan Human Rights Activist
- Jon Britton Hancock, Founder and President, Mountain Gateway Ministry
- Anexa Alfred, Member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and exiled Miskitu leader
This hearing is open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. The video recording of the hearing will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions, please contact media@uscirf.gov.