Jim Elliot: A Life Shaped by Surrender July 11, 2026 — By Pieter Vermeulen, ICC Board Member, as part of a series, “Persecuted but not Forsaken.” By the time we encounter the story of Jim Elliot, we are no longer in...
Authorities Detain Elderly Bishop in Nicaragua July 10, 2026 — An elderly bishop, who has a pacemaker and is a cancer survivor, was subjected to short-term arbitrary detention on June 29 and 30 in Estelí, Nicaragua. Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata...
U.N. Report Highlights Widespread Abuses by Nicaraguan Government March 25, 2026 — A report by the United Nations’ Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, published publicly earlier this month, details systematic abuses by the Nicaraguan government against civilians, religious leaders, the...
Cuban Pastor, Son Arrested March 19, 2026 — Protests in Morón, Cuba, erupted the night of March 13 and lasted through the next day in response to a week of blackouts and shortages of medical and food supplies. Protestors ransacked and set fire to the Cuban Communist Party’s headquarters. Among...
Mexican Evangelicals: Persecution in the South February 25, 2026 — By ICC Fellow Linda Burkle, PhD Mexico has erupted in violence and destruction in retaliation for the Feb. 22 assassination of Nemesio Ruben Osequera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” leader of the...
Mexican Pastor Jailed for Refusing to Participate in Catholic RitualFebruary 6, 2026 — In a village in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, a pastor was arrested and forced from his community for refusing to bow to the statue of a saint. In...
Colombian Pastor Killed on New Year’s EveJanuary 9, 2026 — On New Year’s Eve, Pastor José Otoniel Ortega was repeatedly shot by three armed attackers in the Santa Elena neighborhood in Magdalena Department, Colombia. He was taken to a nearby...
Nicaragua Bans Bibles at Border Crossings December 18, 2025 — According to a report by the local media outlet CentroAmérica360, notices were posted at bus terminals in Costa Rica warning travelers that they could not bring Bibles into neighboring Nicaragua....
U.S. Considers Sanctions on Nicaragua for Ongoing Persecution, Rights Abuses October 23, 2025 — The White House’s Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a report this week highlighting Nicaragua’s consistent “abuses of labor rights, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and dismantling the...
Pastors Increasingly Targeted, Harassed in CubaJuly 29, 2025 — 7/29/2025 Cuba (International Christian Concern) — Pastor Maikel Pupu Velázquez vanished about 14 hours after delivering epilepsy medication to an acquaintance’s granddaughter on July 9 in Cuba. Velázquez delivered the...
Trend of Missing Christian Leaders Emerges in ColombiaJuly 25, 2025 — 7/25/2025 Colombia (International Christian Concern) — Father Carlos Saúl Jaimes Guerrero of Our Lady of Grace of the Order of Saint Augustine is the latest church leader reported missing in...
Bodies of Evangelical Christians Found in Mass Grave in Colombia July 24, 2025 — 7/24/2025 Colombia (International Christian Concern) — The bodies of seven Evangelical Christians and a relative to one of the victims were found on July 1 in a mass, shallow grave...
Recently Detained Priest’s Whereabouts UnknownJune 27, 2025 — 6/27/2025 Nicaragua (International Christian Concern) — After being detained by Nicaragua’s National Police on June 19, Father Pedro Abelardo Méndez Pérez has been reported missing for the last week. Forced disappearances...
Day of Prayer for Nicaraguan Church Comes Amid Continued Persecution June 23, 2025 — 6/23/2025 Nicaragua (International Christian Concern) — The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has designated Wednesday, June 25, as a special day of prayer for the church in Nicaragua....
Nicaraguan Pastor Recounts How Time in Prison Reinforced His Faith June 19, 2025 — Nicaragua (International Christian Concern) — In late December 2023, Nicaraguan Pastor Jose Luis Orozco Urrutia’s faith started being tested. He and 12 others associated with the Evangelical Christian organization Mountain...
Christians Increasingly Abused in Nicaragua’s Prisons June 19, 2025 — 6/18/2025 Nicaragua (International Christian Concern) — In recent years, Nicaragua’s prison system has become a nightmare for Christian political prisoners and whoever else speak against the Sandinista National Liberation Front...
