New Tribes Mission Venezula Forced to Relocate Personnel
In order to comply with a resolution ordering missionaries to leave tribal areas, New Tribes Mission of Venezuela has begun relocating personnel.
Christian Persecution – Americas
Blind Christian Dissident in Cuba Surrounded By Violent Crowds, Trapped in House
Cuba’s influential blind Christian dissident, Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, was facing another tense night Monday, January 16, after government backed crowds, armed with loudspeakers, reportedly threatened to storm his house and kill everyone inside.
Cuba Shuts Down Churches Amid Controversy Over Law, Group Reports
The Communist government of Cuba has closed down at least three Protestant churches following new “harsh legislation” on house churches, a religious rights group said Monday, January 9.
Kidnapped Children US Missionary Couple Freed in Haiti
Children of a United States missionary couple were spending their first Sunday worship service in freedom, November 6, after a turbulent week in which they were first snatched in a Haiti shanty town and later freed in a massive rescue operation.
Cuba Closes Christian Printing Press amid Crackdown On House Churches and Dissidents
Cuban police forces closed down a Christian printing press and detained a pastor for distributing “subversive” materials amid a nationwide government crackdown on house churches and pro-democracy activists on the Communist island, dissident sources and human rights investigators said Tuesday, October 18.
Evangelicals To Be Expelled from Town in Hidalgo, Mexico
About 150 evangelicals – 40 families – will be expelled from their homes in San Nicolas, Hidalgo state, at the end of October, according to a town council vote on Saturday, October 1.
New House Church Restrictions Go Into Effect in Cuba
Government regulations aimed at curbing the growth of Christian house churches in Cuba took force on September 22, sparking fears that evangelical Protestants on the island could face a period of heightened persecution.
Evangelicals in Mexico Jailed, Fined for Their Faith
Every year since establishing the Fountain of Heaven Church in Cuateceometl in 1997, some members of this evangelical congregation in the Mexican state of Hidalgo have spent short periods of time in jail.
Colombia’s Native Missionaries Refuse To Flee Guerilla Offensive
Native Christian missionaries in rural Colombia are refusing to leave despite attacks from guerilla groups which they claim have “randomly confiscated multiple church buildings” and forced hundreds of villagers to flee to major cities, BosNewsLife learned Tuesday, March 22.
Costa Rican Congressman Protests Church Closings
A simmering dispute over the closing of dozens of evangelical churches by the government broke into the open when a leading evangelical member of Costa Ricas Congress staged a protest by climbing the country’s principal monument.
Two Unjustly Held Christian Prisoners Declared Innocent in Peru
Two Christian prisoners, one of whom has spent ten years behind bars, have recently been declared innocent in Peru. The first, Lucio Vilca Galindo, was arrested for the second time in April 1995. He was accused of treason against the state – a crime for which he had already been tried and acquitted. His first trial in 1993 was in a Naval Court where he was accused along with a group of others of being part of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and participating in subversive acts. The co-accused, however, stated in various forms that they had never met Lucio before and he was released.
Colombian Prison Releases Evangelical Seminary Student
Luis Alberto Vera was released last month from Bellavista National Jail, a maximum security prison in Medellín, Colombia, in time to spend Christmas with his young family. Vera, however, remains under house arrest at the Biblical Seminary of Medellín.
Colombian Pastor Dies in Bomb Explosion
Javier Segura, the 31-year-old pastor of a Mennonite church located in the La Victoria neighborhood of Bogotá, Colombia, died instantly Sunday night, November 28, when a bomb detonated outside a public building near downtown Bogotá. The minister was the only fatality in the 10 p.m. terrorist attack in which six other people suffered injuries.
Christians in Haiti Face Increasing Risk
As Haiti suffers through a series of national disasters, spokesmen for the Christian community in the island nation say believers are facing even greater risk.
Masked Gunman Kill Three in Attack on Colombian Church
Three people were killed and 14 seriously injured on September 4 when masked men opened fire on a church in southern Colombia during a prayer service, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports.
Colombian Church Endures in War-torn Choco
AUSTIN, Texas, April 12 (Compass) — Fighting between paramilitaries and guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Chocó, Colombia, abated during Holy Week. But war-weary Christians there know they cannot count on even a few days of peace in this hostile department (state) near the border with Panama.
Blind Christian Lawyer Given Four Years for His Stand for Human Rights in Cuba
Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, a blind Christian human rights lawyer, was given a four year sentence yesterday for his stand for human rights in Cuba.
Colombian Insurgents Kidnap Christian Agronomist
A Roman Catholic priest who mediates hostage crises has confirmed that Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels are holding hostage the brother of a well-known Medellin pastor after kidnapping him on March 17.
Bolivian Villagers Observe Truce Following Church Demolition
Quechua-speaking villagers in Bolivia are living under an uneasy truce two months after an irate mob destroyed the sole evangelical church in their remote Andean community.
Colombian Church Endures in War-torn Choco
Fighting between paramilitaries and guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Chocó, Colombia, abated during Holy Week. But war-weary Christians there know they cannot count on even a few days of peace in this hostile department (state) near the border with Panama.