Displaying items by tag: Nicaragua

Daniel Ortega’s government has forced Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez, president of Nicaragua’s bishops’ conference, to go into exile in Guatemala. He had complained about government officials placing loudspeakers outside a church during Sunday Mass, and also called the actions of the local mayor sacrilegious. CSW sources report that the authorities frequently play loud music outside churches to disturb religious activities, particularly on Sundays and holy days. After the bishop was arrested, his diocese’s Facebook page was deleted. Religious leaders in Nicaragua face growing hostility, with priests under surveillance and Protestant pastors receiving threats: the government has also seized a prominent Jesuit-run university in Managua. CSW has strongly criticised Ortega’s continued repression of religious freedom, calling for the international community to hold him and his regime to account for their ‘ongoing and systematic violation of human rights’.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has denied Nicaragua's request for emergency measures to halt Germany's arms sales to Israel, claiming that this violated the UN genocide convention. Germany is a key ally of Israel and its second-largest arms supplier after the USA, supplying 30% in 2023. Nicaragua also accused Germany of breaching the UN genocide convention by halting funding for UNRWA, the UN's aid agency, over allegations of staff involvement in attacks on Israel. While Germany welcomed the ICJ's decision, it said that it is the largest donor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, and that it was working ‘urgently’ to ensure that aid reaches the people of Gaza. The ICJ's decision on emergency measures came swiftly, but a final ruling could take years: it will now decide if it has jurisdiction over the case. Nicaragua, a longtime supporter for the Palestinian cause, has itself often been criticised for its human rights issues, including crackdowns on dissent and protests.

Brazilian president Lula wants his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega, to free Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who was sent to prison for over 26 years for refusing to leave Nicaragua after Ortega expelled him with 222 other political prisoners to America. He had been locked up for sermons unflattering to the government. Because he refused to leave, he was sent to a maximum-security cell. President Lula said, ‘There is no reason for the bishop to be prevented from exercising his function in the Church. The only thing the Church wants is for Nicaragua to free him.’ While Brazil and Nicaragua have good relations, ties between the Vatican and the Central American state have been severely strained following a crackdown on anti-government protests in 2018, when the Church acted as a mediator between them. Lula said that Ortega should recognise that a mistake had been made.

Four Catholic priests were charged with treason and given ten-year prison terms in a growing clampdown on critics of President Daniel Ortega. Two Catholic seminarians were also given the same sentence on the same charges. All six belong to Matagalpa diocese, led by Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who is under house arrest awaiting trial. A cameraman for Catholic television was also jailed for ten years. ‘We condemn these perverse actions of the regime, which violate human rights,’ the Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights wrote on Twitter. They called for the men's immediate release. Ortega is targeting critical Catholic Church leaders following nationwide protests in 2018. He accused them of attempting to overthrow him when they served as mediators with protesters in the unrest that claimed 300+ lives. Since then, his government has expelled Catholic nuns and missionaries, closed Catholic radio and television stations, and arrested more than a dozen priests.

Governments are blocking swaths of the internet. Pro-democracy activist Ko Jimmy was executed after condemning Myanmar’s military coup online. Idamange Yvonne was sentenced to 15 years in prison for YouTube videos criticising Rwanda’s repressive president. Nicaraguan authorities sentenced journalist Miguel Urbina to nine years in prison for Facebook posts and tweets they deemed threatening to national integrity. Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who ran a YouTube channel criticising Belarus’s government, was jailed for 18 years for inciting unrest. These are only a fraction of the cases in an internet freedom survey by Freedom House, which stated, ‘The same rights protected offline should also be protected online. Human rights are restricted online in 70 countries and 2022 marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in internet freedom’. But it also found that when societies push back against repression, under the right conditions, they can win. Pray for the digital rights groups who research, advocate against, and bring strategic litigation cases to overturn repression online.

76-year-old President Daniel Ortega describes priests as ‘killers’ and ‘coup plotters’. He accuses the clergy of working on behalf of ‘American imperialism’. He said, ‘In the church everything is imposed. It’s a perfect dictatorship. If they are to be democratic, let Catholics vote for the pope, for cardinals, for bishops.’ The church has been under increasing government pressure since Ortega accused it of backing the protests against his government in 2018. A crackdown against demonstrators killed hundreds. Pope Francis recently insisted on the importance of ‘never stopping dialogue’ with Nicaragua. God has brought many people to Himself amidst the nation’s suffering. Numbershave increased through saturation evangelism, and local church outreaches. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and hurricanes have led many to question life and eternity. War, conflict, and political struggles have turned many towards compassionate Christians and hope in Christ. Evangelicals have grown from 2% in 1960 to 30% today, and growth continues.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is urgently calling for prayers for Nicaragua amid an escalation of efforts to silence the Church. The expulsion of the country’s Apostolic Nuncio was followed by the abduction of Bishop Rolando, the Apostolic Administrator of a vacant diocese, along with three priests, two seminarians, a deacon and a photographer. Bishop Álvarez is under house arrest after he criticised the closure of Catholic radio stations. ACN said, ‘These events represent further escalations in an attempt to silence the Nicaraguan Church. There is no easy solution. We need to support them as much as possible and pray for a peaceful solution and no further increase in hostilities. This crisis is critical. In less than four years, the Catholic Church has suffered over 190 attacks, including a fire in the Cathedral of Managua.’ Street processions are prohibited, religious celebrations are interrupted, and the police intimidate worshippers at churches.

A court in Nicaragua has found seven critics of the government of Daniel Ortega guilty of conspiracy in what human rights groups have denounced as a ‘political trial’. Among those convicted are three opposition leaders who had planned to run in the 2021 election. Dozens of government critics were detained in the run-up to the poll, in which Mr Ortega won a fifth term. In a trial held at El Chipote prison behind closed doors, the judges found the seven guilty of ‘conspiracy to undermine national integrity’. The prosecution has asked for sentences ranging between eight and 13 years. This is the latest in a wave of trials against opponents of Ortega. Earlier in February, two of his most outspoken critics - Dora Téllez and Lesther Alemán - were also found guilty of conspiracy in trials dismissed by rights groups as a ‘sham’. Recently, another jailed opposition leader, Hugo Torres, died while awaiting trial.

President Daniel Ortega has gripped Nicaragua’s election on 7 November by arresting all competition, controlling electoral authorities, and reinventing himself as a business-friendly devout Catholic. The US is working with international partners to prepare new sanctions to be levied if he wins the election that Washington denounces as a sham. It has also begun a review of Nicaragua’s participation in a Central American free trade agreement and has halted support for any ‘trade capacity building’ activities seen as benefiting Ortega’s government. Nearly half of Nicaraguans live below the poverty line, and an additional 90,000 individuals fell into poverty as a result of the pandemic. Nicaragua is one of the most corrupt countries globally - a costly, painful legacy of misrule by Ortega’s dictatorship. He stole, wasted and misused state resources, which were destined to combat poverty and used for national development, resulting in immense economic costs. See

Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and hurricanes, combined with war, conflict, and political struggles, have turned many in Nicaragua towards hope in Christ. Evangelicals grew from 2% in 1960 to 30% today. Pray for them to be a genuine blessing to their nation. Poverty is both the cause and result of many political troubles. This poverty also shaped Nicaragua’s spirituality. Liberation theology and prosperity gospel play major roles. There have been years of civil war, and Hurricane Mitch destroyed the economy and infrastructure. Economic wisdom and long-term development are needed. Many in the government are becoming believers: pray that they may have the wisdom and determination to be a righteous influence on the nation. 75% of the population is under the age of 30. Because of war, disaster and distorted political ideologies, stable families are rare. Few churches are equipped or committed to meet their needs. Pray for YWAM and others to impact Nicaragua’s youth.