Nicaragua Update: March 28, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024
Nicaraguan Government Convicts 11 Nicaraguan Evangelical Mountain Gateway Pastors and Charged Almost 1 Billion USD in Fines
(DRIPPING SPRINGS, Tex., USA) -- The Nicaraguan courts found 11 Nicaraguan Mountain Gateway pastors guilty on charges of money laundering. The pastors were not allowed to be physically present during the proceedings; they were only allowed to attend over a video livestream. At the time of the sentencing, all 11 pastors received sentences ranging between 12 and 15 years. In addition, the pastors were each fined over 80 million USD. Between the 11 pastors, they were fined almost 1 billion USD.
Prior to the trial, the judge held the 11 Nicaraguan Mountain Gateway pastors (Walner Omier Blandón Ochoa; Marisela de Fátima Mejía Ruiz; Marcos Sergio Hernández Jirón; Harry Lening Rios Bravo; Manuel de Jesús Ríos Flores; José Luis Orozco Urrutia; Álvaro Daniel Escobar Caldera; Juan Carlos Chavarría Zapata; Juan Luis Moncada; Orvin Alexis Moncada Castellano; César Facundo Burgalin Miranda) without access to their families or their attorney.
The pastors have been held since December 2023, when the Nicaraguan National Police arrested the 11 pastors, canceled Mountain Gateway’s (operating in Nicaragua as Puerta de la Montaña) registration to operate, and seized all of the ministry's assets in the country. The Nicaraguan Attorney General also filed charges against three U.S. citizens, Jon Britton Hancock, Jacob Britton Hancock, and Casandra Mae Hancock, who have been serving as missionaries in Nicaragua since 2013. The three U.S. Citizens were not in Nicaragua at the time of the arrests of the other pastors.
“This is not the outcome we hoped for, and it is heartbreaking to know that people who we consider family are sitting in prison for sharing the Gospel. We trust that God is in control of this situation and have faith that He will have the final say on this all,” said Jon Britton Hancock, Founder and President of Mountain Gateway.
Mountain Gateway has always strived to operate under the laws and policies of Nicaragua while maintaining a respectful relationship with the Nicaraguan government. The charges and convictions of the Nicaraguan pastors are baseless, and the appeal process has begun in the Nicaraguan judicial system. Mountain Gateway will do everything in its power to resolve this through all available legal and diplomatic channels in the U.S., Nicaragua, and internationally.
Prior to the trial, the judge held the 11 Nicaraguan Mountain Gateway pastors (Walner Omier Blandón Ochoa; Marisela de Fátima Mejía Ruiz; Marcos Sergio Hernández Jirón; Harry Lening Rios Bravo; Manuel de Jesús Ríos Flores; José Luis Orozco Urrutia; Álvaro Daniel Escobar Caldera; Juan Carlos Chavarría Zapata; Juan Luis Moncada; Orvin Alexis Moncada Castellano; César Facundo Burgalin Miranda) without access to their families or their attorney.
The pastors have been held since December 2023, when the Nicaraguan National Police arrested the 11 pastors, canceled Mountain Gateway’s (operating in Nicaragua as Puerta de la Montaña) registration to operate, and seized all of the ministry's assets in the country. The Nicaraguan Attorney General also filed charges against three U.S. citizens, Jon Britton Hancock, Jacob Britton Hancock, and Casandra Mae Hancock, who have been serving as missionaries in Nicaragua since 2013. The three U.S. Citizens were not in Nicaragua at the time of the arrests of the other pastors.
“This is not the outcome we hoped for, and it is heartbreaking to know that people who we consider family are sitting in prison for sharing the Gospel. We trust that God is in control of this situation and have faith that He will have the final say on this all,” said Jon Britton Hancock, Founder and President of Mountain Gateway.
Mountain Gateway has always strived to operate under the laws and policies of Nicaragua while maintaining a respectful relationship with the Nicaraguan government. The charges and convictions of the Nicaraguan pastors are baseless, and the appeal process has begun in the Nicaraguan judicial system. Mountain Gateway will do everything in its power to resolve this through all available legal and diplomatic channels in the U.S., Nicaragua, and internationally.
###
About Mountain Gateway
Mountain Gateway Order, Inc. focuses on discipling national leaders through house churches and corporate worship and training national pastors to reach the lost in their nation. Mountain Gateway also runs a ministry training school in the United States to teach believers to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into any context or culture, giving them the tools they need to succeed anywhere God has placed them, under any conditions.
Media Inquiries:
Morgan Sanders
[email protected]
Mountain Gateway Order, Inc. focuses on discipling national leaders through house churches and corporate worship and training national pastors to reach the lost in their nation. Mountain Gateway also runs a ministry training school in the United States to teach believers to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into any context or culture, giving them the tools they need to succeed anywhere God has placed them, under any conditions.
Media Inquiries:
Morgan Sanders
[email protected]
