Christian Persecution Deepens in Nicaragua

After more than two decades of missionary work in Mexico and Central America, U.S. citizen Jon Britton Hancock stands accused of unsubstantiated crimes of money laundering and organized crime by the Nicaraguan government. The accusation, made in late 2023, is an often-used falsehood hurled at anyone deemed a threat by the authoritarian regime governing that nation.

Hancock is not alone in his charges. His son, daughter-in-law, and 11 pastors associated with Hancock’s ministry, Mountain Gateway, have also been charged with, and in some cases imprisoned for, the alleged crimes while being denied basic due process. According to the ministry, they have not been allowed to read their official charging documents.

Today, the 11 pastors remain imprisoned, and Hancock and his family will be tried in absentia.

“Our people say that the church is encouraged and unified and sort of not duped,” Hancock said. “They understand all the charges are bogus, and they’re trying to get us to plead guilty and all the things that they do, which we’re not going to do.”

U.S. Congressman Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., in February condemned the arrests and spurious charges in a press release.

“In December 2023, eleven Nicaraguan pastors and other individuals associated with Mountain Gateway, a Christian organization based in Texas with missionary presence in North and Central America, were arrested and imprisoned by the Nicaraguan government without access to legal counsel, understanding of the allegations against them, or documentation of their alleged criminal charges,” the statement declared.

A bipartisan letter was sent in February to the Ambassador of Nicaragua, signed by 58 members of the U.S. Congress, expressing alarm over Nicaragua’s violations of religious freedom. Additionally, House Resolution 1019, also introduced in February, expresses concern “that United States citizens affiliated with the Mountain Gateway ministry are being targeted for arrest and extradition by the Nicaraguan government.”

In a statement released by the ministry, the missionary group denied all wrongdoing.

It stated that “Mountain Gateway has documentation demonstrating that the Nicaraguan government viewed and approved all funds that entered the country, and the organization operated under the government’s oversight to ensure that all funds were used and managed appropriately.”