Mobile Courant

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville has joined fellow senators in a call for President Joe Biden's administration to impose targeted sanctions on Nicaragua in response to escalating violations of religious freedom in the country. Along with Senators Rick Scott, Ted Cruz, and Katie Britt, Senator Tuberville expressed deep concern over the oppressive actions targeting religious groups in Nicaragua, particularly the founders of Mountain Gateway Ministries, Jon Britton “Britt” and Audrey Hancock.

"We write to you today with deep concern regarding repeated violations of religious freedom in Nicaragua," wrote the senators in a letter to President Biden. They highlighted the recent actions taken by President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo against Mountain Gateway, a U.S.-based Christian organization with a missionary presence in Latin America for over a decade. The senators emphasized the need for stronger actions to hold the Ortega-Murillo regime accountable for these violations of religious freedom.

In recent months, the Ortega-Murillo regime has arrested 13 pastors associated with Mountain Gateway, despite their approval and support from the Nicaraguan government. Additionally, arrest warrants have been issued for three American citizens connected to the organization. The senators pointed out that these unjust imprisonments further expose the corruption of the Ortega-Murillo regime and its collaboration with regimes in Venezuela and Cuba to destabilize the Western Hemisphere.

Senator Tuberville, who represents Alabama in the United States Senate, is a member of several committees including the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees. The senators called on the United States to demonstrate strength in defending human rights, democracy, and freedom in the region in response to the ongoing violations in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela under oppressive regimes.