The persecution of Christians appears to be intensifying in the Central American country of Nicaragua under the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as a Catholic bishop, two priests, and a deacon were arrested and detained last week, apparently for asking for prayers for an end to religious persecution in the country.

On Monday, the U.K.-based organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that Catholic Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara, the 80-year-old Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Estelí, was arrested and detained at the El Chipote Maximum Security Prison in Managua by the National Police on June 29. He was released after being held for over five hours but was again detained the following morning and held until 4 p.m. Two Catholic priests and a deacon were also reportedly arrested on June 30 and held for 12 hours before being released.

According to CSW, the retired Bishop Mata Guevara, “who has a pacemaker and is a cancer survivor,” has not made public appearances recently but accepted an invitation to celebrate Sunday Mass at La Cruz del Calvario Church on June 28. “During the service he referred to religious persecution in his prayers, mentioning the cases of prominent religious leaders such as Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, who was forced into exile in January 2024, and Father Frutos Constantino Valle Salmerón, who has been under house arrest since July 2024,” CSW noted.

The organization further observed that spies for Ortega’s government often record homilies, sermons, and prayers inside Christian churches and report them to the government. There were reportedly 12 arbitrary detentions of Christian leaders (six Catholic and six Protestant) in June alone.

The recent persecution continues an ongoing pattern of religious oppression that has been carried out under the dictatorship of Ortega. In April, a report found at least 309 cases of religious repression against Christians (200 against Catholics and 108 against Protestants) committed by the regime, including threats and harassment. But much more serious crimes have also come to light. In September of last year, it was reported that a Catholic lawyer died in police custody, with his body showing visible signs of torture.

A series of disappearances of others have also occurred for political reasons. A monitoring group called the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners tracked 33 arrests last year. “Five of those cases involved entire families, including a 12-year-old girl detained along with her parents in Jinotepe, shortly after the state confiscated the Catholic-run Colegio San José school on Aug. 12,” The Christian Post noted. The group also found that of the 73 political prisoners currently being held, almost half have disappeared and are unaccounted for.

As for religious persecution, Ortega’s regime appears to be focused on the Catholic Church in particular. Ever since the institution of a 2018 law that restricted foreign funding for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the government has shut down thousands of NGOs, including numerous Catholic groups, banning public processions, and limiting the movement and activities of clergy. In March, the regime instituted a prohibition on four Catholic dioceses from ordaining new priests and deacons.

Evangelical churches have also been heavily affected by the Ortega dictatorship’s activities, with The Christian Post reporting that the majority of the 1,500 nonprofit organizations that have had their legal statuses revoked are evangelical churches and missions. They have also had their assets and properties confiscated “over alleged administrative irregularities.”

“For years, Catholics and evangelicals have felt the weight of the Ortega regime’s targeted oppression,” Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand. “Priests, pastors, and those attending religious services have been harassed by police, threatened, arrested, and at times, imprisoned. Religious events have been forcibly canceled, and churches have been stripped of their own property. The Ortega regime has not only been unrelenting in persecuting believers but is unabashedly ramping up its oppression.”

Still, Del Turco went on to emphasize that the Trump administration has ample leverage at its disposal to press the regime to allow for religious freedom.

“It’s worth remembering that the United States receives a large percentage of Nicaraguan exports, so the U.S. government does have leverage to pressure Nicaraguan leaders,” she pointed out. “The U.S. government does, and should continue to, focus on the human rights situation in Nicaragua and call for that government to respect the rights and freedom of religious leaders and allow for free religious assembly.”