Bishop Abelardo Mata Released After Alleged Property 'Investigation'

Nicaragua's Interior Ministry confirmed on Saturday, July 4, 2026, that Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata of the Diocese of Estelí has returned home following a police "investigation" into his properties. The ministry, controlled by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo's dictatorship, stated the inquiry was prompted by a need to examine the origins of his properties and family connections, which they claimed did not align with his priestly status.

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a necessary investigation into the origin of properties and family ties that do not coincide with the bishop's priestly status.

The regime offered no details on the investigation's findings. Bishop Mata, known as one of the most outspoken critics of the sandinista regime's abuses of power, was initially detained on Monday, June 29, 2026. This action followed a mass he led on June 28, where he urged the faithful to pray for the persecuted Catholic Church.

Following his initial detention, Mata was placed under surveillance at his residence in Tisma, Masaya department. However, sources linked to the Church reported that he was again "kidnapped" by police officers on June 30. The regime's propaganda apparatus attempted to downplay the incident, asserting that the bishop was treated with respect and remained in "perfect condition," a narrative often employed in cases of forced disappearances.

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The persecution against the Catholic Church continues to be in force.

Bishop Mata, 80, has a long history of denouncing human rights violations and the lack of democratic freedoms in Nicaragua. During the 2018 citizen protests, he served as a mediator in the failed National Dialogue and spoke out against the sandinista regime's massacres. Nine Nicaraguan political and civil organizations issued a statement condemning the "persecution against the Catholic Church" and calling any harassment of Mata an "aggression not only against his person" but part of a "systematic policy of intimidation, harassment, and persecution."

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Any act of harassment against Bishop Mata constitutes an aggression not only against his person (...) It is part of a systematic policy of intimidation, harassment, and persecution directed against bishops, priests, religious, and laypeople committed to their faith.