In the dictatorship under President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, since the nationwide protests in 2018, civic initiatives, media outlets, and especially representatives of Christian communities have been subjected to massive and often violent repression. Numerous organisations have been banned, and their representatives imprisoned or deported. Anyone who criticises this approach or is even suspected of being a critic must continue to expect the regime’s arbitrary actions. Evangelical pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas, whom the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) and IDEA had presented as “Prisoner of the Month for October 2025,” was released on January 10, 2026, along with other political prisoners.

The founder of the church community “La Roca de Nicaragua” (“The Rock of Nicaragua”) was arrested on the evening of July 17, 2025, in Jinotepe, the capital of the Carazo district in the southwest of the country. Four family members, a girlfriend, and two friends were also taken into custody. Armed police officers, supported by auxiliary personnel, forcibly entered the Christians’ homes, confiscating mobile phones and other electronic devices. They are accused of conspiracy to undermine national integrity and high treason. Pastor Rudy Palacios and two of his fellow detainees have been under house arrest since their release, and other members of the group have been required to report to the police regularly since their release. One of those arrested with Pastor Palacios Vargas, Mauricio Alonso Prieto, died under unclear circumstances while in custody in August 2025.