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Nicaragua’s Interior Ministry (MINT), controlled by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, confirmed on Saturday, July 4, 2026, that Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata of the Diocese of Estelí had been returned to his home after being subjected to what it described as a police “investigation.”
In a press release, the repressive institution justified the detention of the Catholic prelate—one of the most outspoken critics of the Sandinista regime’s abuses of power—by claiming it had conducted “a necessary investigation into the origin of his properties and family ties, which are incompatible with his clerical status.”
However, the regime did not disclose the findings of the purported investigation. Bishop Emeritus Mata was initially detained by police on Monday, June 29, 2026, in apparent retaliation for a Mass he celebrated the previous day at the Cruz del Calvario Church in the city of Estelí, during which he urged the faithful to pray for the persecuted Catholic Church.
Mata was subsequently placed under surveillance at his residence in the city of Tisma, Masaya department. However, on June 30, according to a source linked to the Catholic Church, he was once again abducted by police officers.
The Narrative of “Respectful Treatment”
As in previous cases involving arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, the regime’s propaganda apparatus sought to soften the incident by claiming that the bishop “remains in perfect condition” and was treated “with respect.”
The press release also states that Bishop Mata “has provided statements regarding various incidents involving violations of national laws,” a justification the Interior Ministry frequently uses to imply that those under investigation have engaged in acts against the state or committed “treason”—the label the regime has repeatedly applied to participants in the 2018 anti-government protests.
A Persistent Critic of the Regime
At 80 years old, Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata has long been one of the Catholic Church’s most outspoken voices denouncing human rights violations, crimes against humanity, and the erosion of democratic freedoms in Nicaragua. During the 2018 civic uprising, he served as a mediator in the failed National Dialogue and became a prominent critic of the massacres carried out by the Sandinista regime.
The recent actions against Bishop Mata are the latest example of the climate of repression in Nicaragua. In a joint statement, a coalition of nine Nicaraguan political and civil society organizations denounced that the “persecution of the Catholic Church remains ongoing.”
“Any act of harassment against Bishop Mata constitutes an attack not only against him personally (…) It is part of a systematic policy of intimidation, harassment, and persecution directed at bishops, priests, religious men and women, and laypeople committed to their faith,” the organizations said.
U.S. Called for His Release
Hours before the Interior Ministry issued its statement, the United States called on Nicaragua’s government, led by co-presidents and spouses Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, to release Bishop Mata “immediately and unconditionally.”
“We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Nicaraguan Bishop Abelardo Mata, who has been arbitrarily detained by the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship,” the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said in a post on X.
The bureau added that Bishop Emeritus Mata poses no threat to the Sandinista regime and that his health is fragile. The statement was also shared by the U.S. Embassy in Managua on its social media accounts.
“We also condemn the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship’s ongoing and cruel religious persecution and repression. The attacks on religious freedom must end,” Washington said.
With reporting from EFE.
