Supporters of an 80 year old Nicaraguan bishop who was arrested and detained on 29 June say they’re concerned over his whereabouts.

Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara, who is retired, was arrested after offering prayers for the persecuted church at a Mass.  Authorities say he was returned home and placed under house arrest on 4 July.

However, an exiled Nicaraguan lawyer Martha Patricia Molina said reports he had returned home were unproven. She told Spanish news agency ACI Prensa that the “forced disappearance of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata is a serious matter; this constitutes a crime against humanity committed by agents of the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship. He has been missing for 19 days, and the co-dictators have not made any further statements on the matter”.

There are concerns over Bishop Juan’s health as he has a pacemaker and has previously survived cancer. Molina added: “No one in his circle has any news of him, and concern among the laity and the Catholic Church in general is even greater due to the medical conditions he suffers from, conditions that are almost certainly not being treated properly.”

At the time of Bishop Juan’s arrest, persecution watchdog Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said that during the Mass he had mentioned the cases of prominent religious leaders such as Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, who was forced into exile in 2024, and Father Frutos Constantino Valle Salmerón, who has been under house arrest for the last two years.

It is believed that his statements were reported by individuals aligned with the government. CSW sources have consistently reported the presence of spies in churches who record homilies and prayers and report them to the National Police.