{"id":26648,"date":"2023-05-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/prayer\/prayer-diary-nicaragua-5999\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T21:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T20:58:09","slug":"prayer-diary-nicaragua-5999","status":"publish","type":"prayer","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/prayer\/prayer-diary-nicaragua-5999\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayer Diary: Nicaragua"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Nicaragua has become a prison state…\u2019 \u2013 David, an exiled defender of freedom of religion or belief<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past five years, President Daniel Ortega has cracked down on all critical voices as he consolidates power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religious leaders, especially those the government views as critical of its actions, have been a particular target. One of them told CSW that even preaching about unity or justice, for example, can be considered criticism of the government and therefore treated as a crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several religious leaders were among the 222 political prisoners removed from prison on 9 February \u2013 but stripped of their citizenship and expelled to the United States. Then on 15 February a further 94 political prisoners, including nine religious leaders, had their citizenship removed; most were already in exile. Others, like Bishop Rolando \u00c1lvarez, remain unjustly imprisoned in Nicaragua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more on p.7 of the April issue of Response magazine<\/b><\/a>, or visit csw.org.uk\/nicaragua<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday 14 May<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lift up in prayer the political prisoners who were released from prison, but forced into exile with their citizenship removed, including Roman Catholic priests and lay leaders. Ask God to help them as they navigate an uncertain future in an unfamiliar land \u2013 with a different language and far from their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday 15 May<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among those expelled from Nicaragua was Pastor Wilber Alberto P\u00e9rez \u2013 a Protestant pastor who was falsely convicted of selling illegal drugs. In reality, he was targeted for promoting the campaign \u2018Christmas without political prisoners\u2019 in 2020, and was held for a prolonged period in solitary confinement with no natural light. Pray for his emotional and physical recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday 16 May<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give thanks for courageous Nicaraguans like Bishop \u00c1lvarez, another human rights defender, who refused to be exiled to the US and the next day was handed an unjust 26-year sentence. He is being held in solitary confinement in a punishment cell with very little light. Pray that his sentence would be overturned, and that the chains of all political prisoners would break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday 17 May<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confidential sources told CSW that paramilitaries threatened three priests who mentioned Bishop \u00c1lvarez in their prayers on the Sunday following his sentencing. Pray protection over all who call for the freedom of Bishop \u00c1lvarez and other political prisoners and support them in prayer, that this would not be treated as a crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday 18 May<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The infamous El Chipote prison has been described by human rights activists as a \u2018torture centre\u2019. Two Catholic priests are currently held there: Father Jos\u00e9 Leonardo Urbina Rodr\u00edguez and Father Manuel Salvador Garc\u00eda Rodr\u00edguez. Pray for increased scrutiny on such facilities \u2013 that it would be impossible for anyone to be held in inhumane conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday 19 May<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political prisoners are not allowed a Bible or other religious literature in prison. Pray that this will change, and ask the Holy Spirit to inspire unjustly imprisoned Christians with verses like Ephesians 3:16-21, which speak of God\u2019s power and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday 20 May<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mighty God, who sees every heart, we pray for President Ortega, his wife and Vice- President Rosario Murillo, and the whole of the Nicaraguan government. Change their hearts, that they would end the crackdown on independent voices, and instead work to uphold the fundamental freedoms of all. Amen.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download a printable copy of this week’s Prayer Diary<\/b><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nicaragua has become a prison state… David, an exiled defender of freedom of religion or belief<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8488,"template":"","regions":[137,142],"class_list":["post-26648","prayer","type-prayer","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","regions-latin-america","regions-nicaragua"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prayer\/26648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prayer"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/prayer"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prayer\/26648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41318,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prayer\/26648\/revisions\/41318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=26648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}