Bishop and Roman Catholic leaders arbitrarily detained

A bishop and three other Roman Catholic religious leaders were subjected to short-term arbitrary detentions in Estelí, Nicaragua on 29 and 30 June.

Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara, the 80-year-old Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Estelí, was detained by the National Police at the San Juan Clinic at 1.30pm on 29 June. Police officers took him into custody and sent him from Estelí to the El Chipote Maximum Security Prison in Managua.

Bishop Mata Guevara was released at 6.45pm that evening but was detained again the following morning and held until 4pm.

On 30 June Deacon Wilfred Aráuz Rodríguez and Father Francisco Morales, of La Cruz del Calvario Church, and Father Rigoberto Delgadillo Sánchez of the Santuario Divino Niño Parish were detained and held for 12 hours. Deacon Aráuz Rodríguez was detained early that morning by Estelí police chief, Alejandro Ruíz Martínez, who was accompanied by masked men.

Bishop Mata Guevara, who has a pacemaker and is a cancer survivor, retired in 2020 and had not appeared in public recently, but accepted an invitation to celebrate Mass at La Cruz del Calvario Church on Sunday 28 June at 5pm. 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.

It is believed that his statements were reported by individuals aligned with the government. CSW sources have consistently reported the presence of spies in churches who record homilies and prayers and report them to the National Police.

Since the bishop’s release, the National Police have maintained a presence outside his home. There are concerns that he will be subjected to 24-hour surveillance and restrictions on his movement, as the authorities have done in other cases.

Silvio José Báez, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Managua, stated via his X account: ‘I am deeply outraged by, and absolutely condemn, the aggression committed by the regime’s police against my brother Monsignor Juan Abelardo Mata, Bishop Emeritus of Estelí. These cowardly actions only demonstrate the weakness and irrationality of a criminal dictatorship.’

CSW documented 12 cases of arbitrary detentions of religious leaders – six Protestant and six Roman Catholic – in June. A number of churches, including some aligned with the government, reported being subjected to harassment and threats.

CSW’s Director of Advocacy and Americas Team Leader Anna Lee Stangl said: ‘CSW condemns the arbitrary detention of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara and three other Roman Catholic leaders. We call on the Nicaraguan authorities to cease their harassment of the bishop and his associates, including the ongoing surveillance of his home. We also call on the government to end its targeting of religious leaders who speak openly about the situation of human rights in the country, and to instead prioritise addressing the concerns they are sharing.’