[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 85 (Thursday, May 16, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3321-H3323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ISSUES IN NICARAGUA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. 
Moore) for 30 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Alabama?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, American citizens from Alabama and 
Texas and their Nicaraguan partners have made it their mission to 
spread the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Nicaraguan people 
for nearly 30 years.
  Evangelists with Mountain Gateway Ministries have worked across the 
country, leading on disaster recovery and feeding, clothing, and 
planting churches with the support and assistance of the Nicaraguan 
government.
  In January, however, the Attorney General of Nicaragua began pursuing 
charges against three U.S. citizens associated with Mountain Gateway 
and 11 Mountain Gateway Nicaraguan pastors on trumped-up charges of 
money laundering and organized crime.
  In addition to being barred from meeting with their legal 
representation and their families, the lawyers on their case were 
denied access to the case files and to other relevant documentation 
against the pastors.
  During the sham trial, the government was unable to produce evidence 
of the alleged illicit activity. Despite this, the 11 pastors have been 
sentenced to up to 15 years in prison and a combined $1 billion in 
fines.
  These pastors were working to bless the people of Nicaragua, and now 
they have been thrown in prison, and all their property has been 
seized.
  These sentences leave families without income and children without 
mothers and fathers simply for sharing the good news of Jesus. I am 
deeply concerned that these citizens and pastors were targeted for 
sharing their faith.
  Matthew 5:10 says: Blessed are they which are persecuted for 
righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
  I recently introduced a resolution, H. Res. 1019, condemning the 
Nicaraguan government for unjust imprisonment of these people, and I 
hope my colleagues will join in support.

[[Page H3322]]

  I am praying for a swift resolution to this situation so these 
pastors can be safely returned to their families and continue sharing 
the Gospel.
  I am grateful to the Members of Congress who joined me for this 
Special Order to highlight this issue and call on the Nicaraguan 
government to release the imprisoned pastors immediately.
  I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), one of my first 
cosponsors of H. Res. 1019.
  Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of these Nicaraguan 
pastors, ministry leaders of Mountain Gateway, who are unable to speak 
for themselves.
  I thank my colleague from Alabama for taking this time of the Special 
Order to discuss this issue, to bring it to the attention of the 
American people, and, really, to the world.
  He has been a great champion on this, and there are many members of 
our delegation in Alabama, and, really, across the country, that are 
very concerned about what we have heard going on in Nicaragua and the 
situation down there.
  Unfortunately, so many of the American people are very unaware of 
what the situation is just a few hundred miles south of our border here 
in the United States of America.
  These leaders, as has been already mentioned, but it should be 
repeated. These leaders have been convicted by the Nicaraguan 
government on sham charges. They now face up to 15 years in prison and 
$80 million in fines each.
  The arrests came after these courageous pastors led a series of 
revivals that were authorized by the Nicaraguan government. They were 
rounded up, and they were imprisoned shortly after a mass outpouring of 
faith in the capital city.
  Mr. Speaker, it is an act of religious persecution that put these men 
and women in prison, these pastors, these leaders, these spiritual 
leaders, these ministry leaders. It is human rights violations that 
have kept them in prison.
  Again, I am so thankful that we live in a country where we do not 
have to worry about going to prison. I think so many Americans take for 
granted all the many freedoms that we have in this country.
  One of those main freedoms that we have is that we get to worship 
freely. We can worship freely, whether it be at an outdoor revival, 
whether it be in a large event, small event, or just being at home 
reading our Bible. We don't have to worry about being sentenced to 15 
years in prison.

  Myself, as a young boy who accepted Christ in my own life, I can now 
be in Congress, and I can be a citizen here in this United States and 
not worry about the threat of prison being hung over my head. We can 
worship freely whether it is to go to an outdoor revival, a program 
that was such as happened in Nicaragua, or whether it is to simply go 
to a small church service or just simply being at home with some other 
Christians sitting around, reading or praying the Bible together.
  During this time when we are reflecting on what is going on here, I 
encourage the American people to reach out to their Members of Congress 
and to encourage them to do what they can to stand with those of us who 
are trying to call attention to this very serious issue.
  This not only goes on in Nicaragua, but it also goes on in many other 
parts of the world, as well. Today, we certainly want to call attention 
to those pastors and ministry leaders from Mountain Gateway who aren't 
able to speak for themselves and be a voice here in the United States 
House of Representatives.
  We ask for their release, and I would call on the Nicaraguan 
government to take action to address these indisputable violations and 
to free these men and women so that they can be returned to their homes 
and their families.
  Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Alabama (Mr. Palmer), my friend.
  Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alabama for 
yielding time. I rise today to urge my colleagues to support passage of 
H. Res. 1019, introduced by my colleague from Alabama (Mr. Moore), in 
response to the Nicaraguan government's unjust imprisonment of 11 
pastors associated with Mountain Gateway, a missionary group based here 
in the United States.
  This wrongful imprisonment is not the first time Nicaragua has 
persecuted good Samaritans trying to help their impoverished Nation. In 
recent years, Nicaragua has arrested Catholic missionaries, as well as 
members of the Red Cross.
  As the United States Congress, we have a vested interest in both 
upholding international religious freedom and the safety and security 
of American citizens currently targeted.
  I join my colleagues to call on the Nicaraguan government to rescind 
these unjust charges immediately and release the pastors.
  To the pastors and persecuted Christians everywhere, I encourage them 
with this passage from Isaiah 41:10: Fear not, for I am with you; be 
not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help 
you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
  Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, previously our colleagues across 
the aisle were talking about hope and mental health in America.
  I think in Nicaragua, these ministries and certainly these 
missionaries were impacting people's lives and bringing them hope. It 
is just a shame what has happened to them.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman).
  Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding time and 
for his leadership on this important issue.
  Since its founding in 2006, Mountain Gateway Ministries has been 
changing people's lives through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ, the feeding and clothing of those in need, and the provision of 
water, food, equipment, and recovery assistance during and after 
natural disasters.
  These noble and selfless efforts have had far-reaching impacts on the 
lives of so many families and individuals extending far beyond the 
borders of any individual Nation.
  In 2013, Mountain Gateway Ministries began their important work in 
Nicaragua, spreading the Lord's word to hundreds of thousands of 
people.
  The ministry has started and supported multiple churches across the 
country, provided countless aid and helping hands through hurricanes 
and other humanitarian relief projects, and has even gone as far as to 
run a Fairtrade coffee farm with the goal of providing a source of 
stable income for local residents in nearby rural communities.
  Over the course of 10 years, they have operated with the cooperation 
and approval of the Nicaraguan authorities. Unfortunately, this all 
changed after the ministry held a series of evangelistic services in 
2023, which nearly 1 million people attended.
  Shortly after those services ended, the Nicaraguan government rapidly 
changed its position and began a relentless campaign of wrongful 
persecution.
  In December 2023, under the guise of false money laundering claims 
and with little to no notice, the Nicaraguan government canceled the 
ministry's legal status, arrested several Nicaraguan pastors and 
ministry partners, threatened the arrest of U.S. citizens involved with 
the ministry, seized the ministry's properties, and froze its bank 
accounts.
  After spending months at a Nicaraguan prison with no access to legal 
counsel, no visits from their relatives, and being unable to hear the 
allegations against them, the trials against those arrested commenced.
  During the trial, the presiding judge arbitrarily elevated the 
charges against these individuals to aggravated money laundering 
claims.
  All the Nicaraguan defendants were found guilty of the elevated 
charges and sentenced to severe punishments, including over 10 years in 
prison and fines amounting to tens of millions of dollars.
  These instances of wrongful targeting and persecution have 
unfortunately become routine actions by the Nicaraguan government.
  The same government has taken similar steps against the Catholic 
Church, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and many other 
religious groups, charities, and civic organizations.
  Mr. Speaker, what is currently unfolding in Nicaragua with the 
members of Mountain Gateway Ministries is a

[[Page H3323]]

travesty, an injustice on the greatest scale.

  From the time of their arrest to the handing down of their sentences, 
the treatment of these individuals and the ministry is in complete 
contradiction to the most fundamental freedoms and beliefs that we hold 
here in America, including the freedom of religion, presumption of 
innocence, and the guarantee of due process and equal treatment under 
the law.
  I commend Mountain Gateway founder Jon Britton Hancock and his 
family, who are constituents of mine in Wyoming, for bringing this to 
my attention and for their tireless efforts to advocate for the just 
treatment and release of these individuals.
  I urge President Biden, the State Department, and all of my 
colleagues to call on the Nicaraguan government to take prompt action 
to address these violations of religious freedom and abandonment of 
justice and due process.
  Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate Ms. Hageman speaking 
tonight on that. I certainly want to encourage everybody to get on this 
resolution, H. Res. 1019, to help free these folks and bring attention 
to this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARL. Mr. Speaker, as Americans, we pride ourselves on our 
individual liberties and due process of law. We were founded on the 
freedom of religion, and it is one of the most important freedoms that 
we hold. I am deeply disturbed by the ongoing situation of religious 
persecution in Nicaragua. The Mountain Gateway pastors, who spread the 
teachings of Jesus, have been violated at the hands of the Nicaraguan 
government. No person should ever be imprisoned for peacefully 
practicing their religion. Religious persecution is both intolerable 
and barbaric. The radical, leftist government of Nicaragua and 
President Daniel Ortega have proven themselves time again to be 
horribly oppressive. As a member of the United States Congress, I 
condemn Nicaragua's actions, and I will always fight for religious 
freedom at home and abroad.

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