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🇳🇮 Nicaragua /Crime & Justice

Exiled priests demand bishop's 'absolute and immediate freedom'

From Confidencial · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Nicaraguan priests in exile demand the immediate and unconditional release of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara, who they say is under house arrest.
  • The priests dispute a recent state-controlled media interview with the bishop, claiming it was pre-recorded to falsely show him in good health and free.
  • Bishop Mata was detained June 29, 2026, after a sermon about the persecuted Church, and the regime cited an investigation into his property and family ties.

Nicaraguan priests living in exile are demanding the "absolute and immediate freedom" of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara. The 80-year-old bishop of Estelí is reportedly under house arrest, despite a state media interview intended to show him in good health.

It is urgent to demand every day the absolute, unconditional, and immediate freedom of Monsignor Juan Abelardo Mata, as well as the immediate cessation of all forms of surveillance, harassment, and persecution against him.

— Nicaraguan priests in exileIn a statement denouncing the situation of Bishop Mata.

The priests issued a statement on August 14, 2026, marking the bishop's 50th anniversary of priesthood. They denounced the "grave situation" of the religious leader and called for an end to all surveillance and harassment against him. They argued that the interview, broadcast on August 12, 2026, was not recent but rather pre-recorded material used to project a false reality.

This is not a recent interview, but material made previously and disseminated now to project to public opinion a different reality than the one Monsignor Mata is currently experiencing.

— Nicaraguan priests in exileDescribing the state-controlled media interview with Bishop Mata.

"If one is observant, it is easy to realize through different phrases and expressions, the way the bishop is facing this moment of being unjustly deprived of liberty in house arrest," the exiled priests stated. Bishop Mata was initially detained on June 29, 2026, after a Mass where he prayed for the persecuted Church and exiled priests. He was placed under surveillance at his home in Tisma, Masaya, but was arrested again the following day.

If one is observant, it is easy to realize through different phrases and expressions, the way the bishop is facing this moment of being unjustly deprived of liberty in house arrest.

— Nicaraguan priests in exileAnalyzing Bishop Mata's demeanor in the broadcast interview.

The regime claimed the detention was for an investigation into his "properties and family ties that do not align with the prelate's priestly status." Father Edwing Román, also in exile, called the interview a "show" by the regime, motivated by pressure from the United States. He stated that authorities should focus on the police who have taken over the bishop's property and are holding him hostage. The U.S. had previously demanded the bishop's "immediate and unconditional release."

Adolfo Pastran lives near Nindirí and Tisma. His visit was not courtesy or a show of friendship to Monsignor Mata, but another show motivated by US pressure on the dictatorship. They should have focused attention on the Police who are holding the bishop hostage.

— Edwing RománCommenting on the interview and the bishop's detention.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Confidencial in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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