An American pastor wanted by Nicaragua’s communist government on dubious charges told Breitbart News on Wednesday that his organization is the latest victim of a growing anti-Christian campaign in the majority-Christian country. He said he believed it was Mountain Gateway.
Pastor John Britton Hancock said the Sandinista government had told Mountain Gateway that it was indicting him on charges of “money laundering” and “organized crime,” but the indictment had not been made public and the charges had not been made public. He explained that he had not disclosed any supporting evidence. Hancock told Breitbart News in an interview this week that the Nicaraguan government has seriously obstructed due process and doesn’t even have charging documents detailing what crimes his organization is accused of committing. admitted that. There are no public charges. Imprisoned people are denied reasonable access to legal defense. And Ortega’s pattern of repressive behavior toward Christians suggested to Hancock that this was another case of Christian persecution in Nicaragua.
Mr Hancock said the arrests interrupted a rapidly growing wave of Christian fervor across the country, which Mountain Gateway had been closely involved in inciting.
“We witnessed a massive movement of God that involved hundreds of thousands of people. It had a tremendous impact on the hearts of the Nicaraguan people,” Hancock said.
Police arrested 11 pastors connected to Mountain Gateway in December: Walner Omie Brandon Ochoa, Marisela de Fatima Mejia Ruiz, Marcos Sergio Hernández Giron, and Harry Lenning Rios. Bravo, Manuel de Jesús Ríos Flores, Jose Luis Orozco Urrutia, Álvaro Daniel Escobar Caldera, Juan Carlos Chavarria Zapata, Juan Luis Moncada, Olvin Alexis Moncada Castellano , Cesar Facundo Bulgarin Miranda.
Pastors, from top to bottom: Walner Omie Brandon Ochoa, Marisela de Fatima Mejia Ruiz, Marcos Sergio Hernández Girón, Harry Renning Ríos Bravo, Manuel de Jesús Ríos Flores. , Jose Luis Orozco Urrutia, Álvaro Daniel Escobar Caldera, Juan Carlos Chavarria Zapata, Juan Luis Moncada, Auvin Alexis Moncada Castellano, Cesar Facundo Bulgarín Miranda (Photo courtesy: Mountain Gateway).
They also want the arrests of Hancock, his son Jacob Britton Hancock, and his daughter-in-law Cassandra Mae Hancock. All of these people are American citizens. work in Christian ministry.
Mountain Gateway Pastors Rev. Jacob Britton Hancock and Cassandra Mae Hancock of Nicaragua (Reprinted with permission of Mountain Gateway)
In a press release on Wednesday, Mountain Gateway stressed that it “doesn’t understand the complexity of what’s going on,” especially since the Nicaraguan government itself “is innocent but claims to be innocent.” “Why do nine of the 11 pastors arrested remain in prison?” It was under the control of three American citizens and two imprisoned Nicaraguan pastors. ”
“It’s hard to understand this argument because the government has been reviewing and approving our funding upon entry,” Hancock told Breitbart News this week. “We have a document outlining the approval of ministry operating funds and the submissions seeking approval of those funds.”
The anti-Christian background in Nicaragua’s political climate suggests that the accusations are part of a larger ambition to erase the faith from the country. In 2018, large-scale anti-communist protests erupted in the country, but were peaceful in nature and often supported by local priests from the Catholic community. Mr. Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, responded with extraordinary violence. kill Over 300 people. With the Catholic Church’s visible support for the protests, Mr. Ortega declared the Vatican a terrorist organization and accused it of plotting a coup against his government – the Vatican remained largely silent. Despite the fact that the voice of opposition was a local Nicaraguan clergyman.
People demonstrate against the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega in Managua on September 16, 2018. (INTI OCON/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman holds a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a placard that reads “We need a God-fearing government” during a protest against the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega in Managua on September 15, 2018. (INTI OCON/AFP/Getty Images).
Nicaragua’s population Approximately 50 percent are Roman Catholics, 33 percent are evangelical Christians, and there are minorities of other religions. As the largest Christian community and one directly associated with anti-communist resistance since 2018, Catholics have suffered a tremendous wave of repression. 97 priests Universities and religious media were shut down, Jesuit orders were completely banished, and traditional Catholic practices were banned.
But Catholics are not alone.Ortega is shutdown Since 2018, more than 3,500 nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations have participated, the majority of whom are Christian. Hancock told Breitbart News that the Christian atmosphere in Nicaragua is tense, with many fearing one wrong word could land them in prison.
“Since 2018, the Nicaraguan government has deregistered more than 3,000 nonprofit organizations, so we are not alone in this boat,” Hancock said. “They have been particularly harsh towards Christian organizations, both Catholic and evangelical.”
“We certainly feel solidarity with the imprisoned Catholic priests. The government has systematically eliminated hundreds of faith-based organizations over the past few years,” he added. “Our organization has been removed from Nicaragua and we have pastors who have been unjustly imprisoned.”
“Yes, I believe Christians are persecuted in Nicaragua. We worked with thousands of pastors during the 2023 Gospel Campaign,” he continued, “and we believe that Christians are being persecuted in Nicaragua. I don’t think we’ve ever had an interaction with pastors without them expressing the reality that we have to be very careful about the government, especially when it comes to government. ”
“What we feel from the people of Nicaragua is that there is no freedom of speech, that government surveillance is common and widespread, and that the consequences for speaking negatively about the government are severe. ” Mr Hancock pointed out. “I’ve met a lot of people who know that pastors have been arrested. There’s a general fear of this because pastors influence people.”
Hancock and his wife Audrey founded Mountain Gateway in 2009 and will begin their 10th year of service in Nicaragua in 2023. Much of the work there was humanitarian, responding to natural disasters, helping poor rural communities, and other basic charity work. – The organization has launched a new initiative in 2023. It is a series of mass evangelism events that provide an avenue of Christian worship for those seeking to experience God’s grace.
Mountain Gateway volunteers are engaged in disaster relief after Hurricanes Iota and Eta in 2020 (Courtesy of Mountain Gateway).
Mountain Gateway volunteers are engaged in disaster relief after Hurricanes Iota and Eta in 2020 (Courtesy of Mountain Gateway).
“Since 2013, we have served the people of Nicaragua through discipleship, church planting, feeding and clothing those in need, providing food, water, and equipment, and assisting with recovery during natural disasters, and most recently, “We shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ at Mass. Evangelism,” Hancock told Breitbart News. “Whenever there was a need in this country, whether it was a natural disaster or someone’s truck stranded on a mountainside, we worked to help and serve the people of Nicaragua.”
Large-scale evangelism was a new direction for Mountain Gateway, but Hancock said it was necessitated by a direct call from God. My people, I’m not going to argue with him. to go. ”
These consisted of outdoor events where hundreds of thousands of people worshiped, sang, and testified about their faith.
“God’s presence was undeniable in every event,” he continued. “I think it’s been so popular because God shows up at any time and people have encountered Him. Thousands of people have been healed, delivered from spiritual oppression, and most importantly, , they proclaimed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.”
The campaign was a success that attracted worldwide attention, with approximately 200,000 people participating in several events.mountain gateway Estimation By November, nearly 1 million people had joined the movement. The government not only condoned the incident; To support It was held in the presence of several senior officials. This tolerance for expressions of faith in Jesus stands in stark contrast to the increasing persecution of political dissidents, many of them prominent clerics, and Ortega’s very public declaration of war on the Catholic faith. It was a contrast.
An estimated 200,000 people gathered at Plaza Fe in Managua, Nicaragua on November 10, 2023. Mountain Gateway held two events as part of a mass evangelism campaign during the Buenas Nuevas Nicaragua Campaign on November 10 and 11, 2023 in the Plaza (Photo courtesy of Mountain Gateway).
Mountain Gateway by the end of the year announced It announced that it has begun organizing 13 more campaigns across Nicaragua for 2024. Then, very suddenly, the government’s tolerance ended. In mid-December, Ortega’s government arrested 11 Mountain Gateway pastors on suspicion of money laundering and “organized crime.”
“I think the size of the evangelical movement and the number of participants could be seen as a threat to the government,” Hancock said, but added, “Again, after we’ve been active, I don’t know why they’re calling us.” “I don’t know if they will target them,” he said. We strived to maintain respectful relationships and comply with policies and laws. ”
He explained that the essence of this threat is a call to Christian freedom.
“The Gospel changes people’s hearts and changes the way people think. Christianity is about the loving relationship between God and humans, so freedom of choice is at the heart of Christianity,” the pastor explained. “When love is real, there is no coercion or control. It does not use force to achieve its ends. Love requires unfettered decision-making capacity.”
Mountain Gateway Pastor John Britton Hancock preaching in Nicaragua (Courtesy of Mountain Gateway)
Mr. Hancock expressed hope that the U.S. State Department could support his organization.
“We ask that the State Department support the immediate release of these 11 pastors and help ensure safe travel and sanctuary for them in countries where they can continue to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.” told Breitbart News, Mountain added: Gateway was seeking diplomatic means to resolve the conflict with the Sandinista regime. “We also ask for your help in dismissing baseless accusations against pastors in the United States and Nicaragua.”
