Two Priests Murdered by Cartel Gunmen inside Mexican Border State Church
The two priests tried to intervene but the gunmen killed all three
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Cartel gunmen murdered two Jesuit priests who where trying to protect another man from being killed in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua.
The gunmen then stole the priests’ bodies.
The murder took place on Monday evening in Cerocahui, Chihuahua, reports say.
According to the Jesuit Order in Mexico, a victim was running away from gunmen and sought refuge in a church.
The two priests tried to intervene but the gunmen killed all three.
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“Every day, men and women are arbitrarily deprived of life, just like our brothers were murdered today,” a statement from the Jesuit Order explained.
“The Jesuits of Mexico will not remain silent at the reality that lacerates all of society.”
Con profundo dolor, denunciamos el homicidio de nuestros hermanos Javier Campos Morales,SJ, y Joaquín César Mora Salazar,SJ,ocurrido ayer en el templo de Cerocahui, #Chihuahua.
— Jesuitas México (@Jesuitas_Mexico) June 21, 2022
Condenamos estos hechos violentos, exigimos justicia.
➡️ https://t.co/UGGXCsatPI#JesuitasMéxico pic.twitter.com/wr4ULX3HXV
As Brietbart reported:
Despite the claims of Mexico’s federal government about diminishing violence, cartel gunmen control large swaths of the country and operate with almost complete impunity.
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In Chihuahua, criminal cells tied to the Juarez and Sinaloa Cartels have been openly fighting for years for smuggling corridors into the U.S.
The area where the clergy murders took place is controlled by the Gente Nueva cell of the Sinaloa Cartel.
"I am shocked and saddened by this news. My thoughts and prayers are with the #Jesuits in #Mexico and the families of the men. We have to stop violence in our world and so much unnecessary suffering" - Fr Arturo Sosa on the murder of Javier Campos and Joaquín Mora #StopViolence pic.twitter.com/S5E0WmkXU7
— Society of Jesus (@JesuitsGlobal) June 21, 2022
During his morning conference, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that his administration was already looking into the case and have information about the perpetrators.
As CBS News reported:
The church's Catholic Multimedia Center said seven priests have been murdered under the current administration, which took office in December 2018, and at least two dozen under the former president, who took office in 2012.
In 2016, three priests were killed in just one week in Mexico.
The center said that in 2021, a Franciscan priest died when he was caught in the crossfire of a drug gang shootout in the north-central state of Zacatecas as he drove to Mass.
Another priest was killed in the central state of Morelos and another in the violence-plagued state of Guanajuato that year.
In 2019, a priest was stabbed to death in the northern border city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas.
Chihuahua Gov. Maria Eugenia Campos wrote in her Twitter account that she "laments and condemns" the killings, and said security arrangements had been discussed for priests in the area.
