Catholic Priest and Activist for Indigenous Peoples Murdered in Mexico Just After Celebrating Mass

The Mexican state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, has seen a comparatively high number of murders so far this year. The influence of criminal groups has turned Chiapas into a state with a one of the highest rates of homicides, kidnappings and abuses towards migrants in Mexico.

Conditions have become so dire in certain places that hundreds of people fled Mexico for Guatemala earlier this year, displaced from their communities and seeking refuge from cartel violence.

Violence in Chiapas has taken another victim after Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers, was killed during the weekend.

Chiapas prosecutors' office said Rev. Pérez was shot dead by two gunmen when he was in his van just after he had finished celebrating Mass. The office said he was headed to the nearby Guadalupe Church when two people aboard a motorcycle opened fire.

Many people in the community consider Pérez's death was a tragedy foretold, with human rights advocates arguing that he did not receive the government protection he needed and requested. He had often received threats, but nonetheless continued to work and be an activist.

"For years, we insisted that the Mexican government should address the threats and aggressions against him, but they never implemented measures to guarantee his life, security and well-being," The Fray Bartolomé de las Casas human rights center wrote.

Pérez served in the San Andrés Larráinzar community for two decades and was known as a negotiator in conflicts in a mountainous region of Chiapas, where crime, violence and territory disputes are common. He also led several marches against violence, which brought him several death threats.

The U.N. Human Rights Office said Pérez was the seventh human rights activists killed in Mexico during 2024.

"Father Marcelo Pérez was the subject of constant threats and aggressions on the part of organized crime groups," said The Fray Bartolomé de las Casas rights center, adding that his killing "occurred in the context of a serious escalation of violence against the public in all regions of Chiapas."

Although no information on the killers has been released, President Claudia Sheinbaum said that investigations are being carried out.

Violence in Chiapas

For the past two years, Chiapas has been tormented by bloody turf battles involving the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels as they fight for drug smuggling routes along the Mexican southern border.

Earlier this month, during a press conference, Mexico's Federal Security Cabinet revealed a graphic with the total number of murders committed in the country between January and September of 2024. That list placed Chiapas in 14th place, with 686 murders reported as of September.

Pushed away by drug cartel violence, thousands of people have also been displaced, as cartels force villagers to take sides in the dispute.

"They should look for an intelligent way to disarm those groups," said Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, who once served as the bishop for the area. "They shouldn't wait for people to file complaints, and people are going to file complaints because their lives are at risk."

Arizmendi said that the situation in Chiapas "is a reflection of the whole country," and added that the government's current strategy has not worked on stopping crime. "They shouldn't say everything is fine in Mexico."