Americas

An American missionary has met with senior officials at the US State Department in an effort to secure the release of 11 pastors imprisoned in Nicaragua on trumped up charges of money laundering and organized crime, CBN News reports. Britt Hancock of the US-based Mountain Gateway missionary organization made his recent appeal to lawmakers in Washington even as he himself also faces criminal charges in the matter.

Nicaragua’s Attorney General has charged three US missionaries and 11 Nicaraguan pastors with money laundering and organized crime, months after the Christians led large Gospel outreaches in the country, CBN News reports.

For the first time ever, the Central American country of Nircaragua has been added to the Open Doors World Watch List of top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted. The Open Doors international Christian organization raises awareness of global Christian persecution, and ranked Nicaragua 50 on this year’s World Watch List.