A well-known priest has been shot dead after leading mass in a violence-hit Mexican state

Hundreds gathered Monday to mourn the death of Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an Indigenous activist and farm worker who was killed in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

It was a killing many say was a foretold disaster, in a state where drug cartels have forced thousands of people to flee their homes.

Mourners gathered in San Andres Larrainzar, near the town of San Cristobal de las Casas, where Pérez was killed on Sunday.

Pérez, a leading peace activist in the violence-stricken province, was from San Andrés Larrainzar. Monday’s memorial service was held in Spanish and Tzotzil, his native language.

Pérez, 50, often received threats, but continued to work as a peace activist. Human rights lawyers say Pérez did not get the government protection he needed.

“For many years, we insist that the Mexican government must face the threats and brutality against him, but they have never used measures to guarantee his health, safety and well-being,” wrote the human rights center Fray Bartolome de las Casas.

The federal prosecutor’s office said Reverend Pérez was shot dead by two gunmen in his van as he finished celebrating Mass.

“Father Marcelo was coming out … … after celebrating mass on his way to the church of Guadalupe, when two people riding a motorcycle opened fire,” the office said.

Although there were no immediate details about the killers – President Claudia Sheinbaum he only said “under investigation” – Mr. Pérez’s efforts at peace and mediation may anger one of the two drug cartels currently fighting for control of Chiapas.

The state is a very profitable way to smuggle both drugs and migrants.

“Father Marcelo Pérez has been constantly threatened and attacked by organized crime groups,” according to the rights center, adding that his killing “occurred due to the increase in violence against the public in all regions. Chiapas.”

“Image of the whole world”

At least two years ago, the Sinaloa again Jalisco soldiers engaged in bloody wars that included killing entire families, and forcing villagers to take sides in the conflict. Hundreds of residents of Chiapas have had to flee to neighboring Guatemala for safety.

“They should look for a clever way to take away those groups,” said Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, a former bishop in the area. “They should not wait for people to file complaints, and people will file complaints because their lives are at risk.”

And the ongoing drug violence in the northern province of Sinaloaand the killing of six foreign soldiers earlier this month, Pérez’s killing was another embarrassment for the government.

Sheinbaum took office on October 1 and has pledged to follow the policy of his predecessor and mentor, former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, of not dealing with drug cartels. The policy has failed to significantly reduce violence.

“This is a symbol of the whole country,” Cardinal Arizmendi said after Pérez’s mass. “They don’t have to say that everything is fine in Mexico. Please.” he continued. “This strategy doesn’t work.”

He worked in the community for twenty years and was known as a conflict negotiator in the mountainous region of Chiapas where crime, violence and international conflicts are rampant. Pérez has also led many anti-violence marches, which have brought him numerous death threats.

The UN Human Rights Office said Pérez is the seventh human rights activist killed in Mexico so far in 2024.

In 2022, two Jesuit priests were killed inside a church in a remote mountain community in northern Mexico, In 2016, three priests were killed in one week in Mexico.