After pointing out that in Nicaragua the government has closed 200-300 Protestant churches, Hjelkrem noted that these events became a meeting place for those who wanted to pray in public places, because “people had nowhere to go.”
These events, she added, mobilized “so many people that the government became alarmed and decided to put an end to Mountain Gateway because it viewed it as a social movement, although we know that it is deeply religious and only religious.”
Jon Britton Hancock, founder and president of Mountain Gateway, told ACI Prensa that the events were “purely religious. We are not politically motivated nor are we involved in politics, neither in Nicaragua nor in any of the countries where we work.”
“What we believe about our work is that we are not ambassadors of any country but ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven, and that is why we are concerned about the good of all people,” he said.
Hjelkrem also highlighted that the Nicaraguan government “doesn’t like someone having this ability to move people, it doesn’t like any type of leadership.”
Regarding the accusation of money laundering, the lawyer stressed that the Ortega and Murillo regime “had people who came to audit the accounts month after month. There was not a single dollar that came from their donors in the United States that went into Nicaragua that was not explained in official documents.”
Persecution of Christians in Nicaragua
On Jan. 17 Mountain Gateway learned that the attorney general of Nicaragua was moving forward with filing charges against three U.S. citizens associated with its organizations, alleging money laundering and organized crime, an allegation the group emphatically denies.
The accused are Hancock, his son Jacob, and his daughter-in-law Kathy, who cannot leave the United States because Nicaragua has issued an alert to Interpol requesting their extradition if they are in any of the countries the notice went to.
“We have different emotions: We’re sad, angry, and very worried about our people in prison, about the lack of freedom. This is a terrible situation,” Hancock told ACI Prensa.
After commenting that he is in Washington, D.C., to seek help and some kind of diplomatic solution, the founder of Mountain Gateway condemned religious persecution in Nicaragua, including that against the Catholic Church.
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“It’s terrible! I think government persecution of any group isn’t good. We have seen the government persecuting Catholics and their priests; also evangelical pastors. It’s not right and we emphatically condemn it,” the Christian leader said.
Hjelkrem also told ACI Prensa that in evangelical circles it is said that “all the pastors are aware that there are infiltrators and informants in their churches, which is why they are not free to preach freely because they know that the regime is waiting for someone to speak out against the government about its actions in order to close churches.”
In response to the question “What would you say to Daniel Ortega?” from ACI Prensa, Hancock said he “would talk to him about the need to defend freedom and not his power.”
“I would do my best to convince him to stop the persecution of those who criticize him and instead to protect freedom of thought, of choice, as well as religious freedom,” he said.
Hancock added: “I would ask him to change and listen to the Scriptures and the truth; and to walk before God with love and mercy. That’s what I would tell him.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.