Nicaraguan lawyer warns USCIRF that public prayer is criminalized under Ortega’s rule, urging U.S. action to defend global religious freedom.
Newsroom (14/01/2026 Gaudium Press ) “In Nicaragua, praying in public is considered a crime.” With those uncompromising words, Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer and Catholic researcher, stood before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on January 13, urging America to confront one of the harshest campaigns of religious persecution in the Western Hemisphere.
Before lawmakers and international advocates gathered for USCIRF’s hearing on global violations of faith, Molina described a country where Catholic worship has been driven underground and devotion itself has become an act of defiance. “The measures that must be taken need to be more aggressive,” she told the panel. “Sanction the army. Impose direct economic sanctions. Bring Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo before international justice and prosecute them for crimes against humanity.”
Documenting the Crackdown
Since April 2018, Molina has tracked the Nicaraguan regime’s assault on the Church, documenting an estimated 19,836 attacks against priests, nuns, and lay Catholics. Her investigation, titled Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church, outlines what she calls “the horrors done at the hands of the dictators.”
She recounted how altar boys are “harassed and monitored by the national Nicaraguan police and forced to sign documents whose contents they do not understand,” with parents threatened if they speak to the media. The regime, she said, now blocks Bible imports and controls the workshops producing religious imagery.
“In Nicaragua,” Molina continued, “Catholics are as afraid as when the disciples of Jesus were afraid after his killing.” Priests, she said, must “be careful about how to proceed when they preach for fear of being in prison or exiled.”
Faith Under Siege
In her testimony, Molina painted a portrait of a Church gutted by expulsions and closures. She noted that 13 universities and institutes—a number of them with religious affiliations—have been shut down by the Ortega-Murillo government. More than 300 priests and nuns have been exiled or barred from returning, leaving some dioceses with as little as 30 to 40 percent of their clergy. “Communities in the interior of Nicaragua can no longer go to confession regularly,” she said.
Her appeal carried a warning beyond Nicaragua’s borders: “It is with urgency that we need to stop the criminals or they will continue to advance, which will eventually reach us in the United States.”
Rising Concern in Washington
At the same session, USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler said the need for U.S. advocacy on religious liberty “is critical now more than ever.” She underscored that while Nigeria’s recent designation as a country of particular concern marks progress, more nations merit added scrutiny. “We are very thankful the president designated Nigeria,” Hartzler said. “But there are many other countries repressing their people, and we need to act.”
Hartzler added that USCIRF’s commissioners continuously meet victims of persecution worldwide. “The United States has a tremendous amount of influence and opportunity to make a difference, and we should use our voice and our spot in the world to help others.”
Several members of Congress echoed that sentiment. Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia framed the issue in explicitly spiritual terms: “The United States is a Christian nation. We have a unique duty to defend Christians wherever they are being persecuted.”
Rep. Mark Alford of Missouri turned attention to China’s religious policies, accusing the Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping of demanding “loyalty to the party over loyalty to God Almighty.” He cited ongoing efforts in Congress to reinforce China’s designation as a country of particular concern.
A Global Pattern of Persecution
The hearing extended beyond Nicaragua, revealing a grim pattern across continents. Testimony included the ongoing imprisonment of Chinese Protestant pastor Ezra Jin. His daughter, Grace Drexel, lamented what she called the “largest takedown of an independent Christian population since the Cultural Revolution,” following her father’s arrest alongside 27 other pastors and church leaders from Beijing’s Zion Church.
“I urge this commission to recognize that what is happening in China is not merely a domestic matter but a global threat to religious freedom and human dignity,” Drexel said. “If the international community remains silent, we signal acceptance and impunity for such trampling of human rights.”
The Stakes of Silence
Molina’s warning stood out for its urgency and emotion. Her country’s collapse into fear and control, she argued, signals not only a crisis for Nicaragua’s Catholics but a test for the international community’s resolve to defend sacred freedoms.
“Nicaragua is living under a dictatorship that sees every prayer as rebellion,” she said. “It is not just a crisis of faith, but a crisis of humanity — and one the world cannot afford to ignore.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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