US demands immediate release of Nicaraguan Bishop Emeritus Juan Abelardo Mata

The United States has demanded the "immediate and unconditional" release of Nicaraguan Bishop Emeritus Juan Abelardo Mata, who is 80 years old. The U.S. State Department's Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs stated on X that Mata was "arbitrarily detained by the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship."

Washington also condemned the "continued and cruel religious persecution and repression" by the Nicaraguan government, urging an end to attacks on religious freedom. The U.S. Embassy in Managua shared the statement on its social media, emphasizing that Bishop Mata poses no threat and has fragile health.

Bishop Mata was reportedly detained by police on Monday, allegedly in retaliation for a June 25 mass. During that service at the Cruz del Calvario church in Estelí, he asked attendees to pray for the persecuted Catholic Church, specifically mentioning Bishop Rolando Álvarez and Father Frutos Valle.

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We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Nicaraguan Bishop Abelardo Mata, who has been arbitrarily detained by the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship.

Sources within the religious community indicate that Mata was initially taken for an investigation and later placed under surveillance at his residence in Tisma, Masaya. However, police later returned to his home and took him away to an unknown location. The National Police have not provided an official explanation for his detention or whereabouts.

Relations between the Vatican and Managua have been officially suspended. In March 2023, the late Pope Francis described Ortega's government as a "gross dictatorship." This followed the conviction of Bishop Rolando Álvarez for "treason against the homeland," resulting in a 26-year prison sentence. Álvarez has since been exiled and stripped of his nationality. Ortega's government has also dissolved and expropriated the Jesuit order, to which Pope Francis belonged, and has labeled the Church as a "mafia."

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We further condemn the continued and cruel religious persecution and repression by the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship. Attacks on religious freedom must cease.