The priest and human rights defender Marcelo Pérez Pérez was shot to death this Sunday inside a van, in the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, state of Chiapas, in southeastern Mexico.
The defender of the indigenous peoples, known as Father Marcelo, a Tzotzil indigenous person, was shot on more than two occasions when he was in his vehicle in the Cuxtitali neighborhood, on Las Peras Street, located east of the tourist city of San Cristóbal de the Houses.
Around 8:00 a.m. (2:00 p.m. GMT), residents reported constant gunshots and even reached out when they saw what happened.
Witnesses indicated that the priest was intercepted by heavily armed individuals who shot at the height of the driver’s side window.
Father Marcelo was leaving the Cuxtitali parish after saying mass and was heading to the Guadalupe church, when two people on a motorcycle shot him at point-blank range.
The neighbors asked the security elements for help, however, it was no longer possible to help the father because the wounds were lethal.
Given this event, the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), through the Special Affairs Prosecutor’s Office and the Altos District, began investigations to find those responsible for the crime of homicide to the detriment of Father Marcelo ‘N’, the agency reported.
Elements of the Investigative Police assigned to the Altos District Prosecutor’s Office and Expert Services personnel went to the scene of the events, who implemented a protocol, but the situation is hermetic in the area.
So far the Catholic Church has not issued a statement.
Father Marcelo Pérez Pérez belonged to the Tzotzil Mayan ethnic group of San Andrés Larraínzar; Later, he studied for the priesthood in Tuxtla Gutiérrez and dedicated himself to this service for more than 20 years, supporting the defense of the human rights of indigenous peoples.
He was a parish priest for 10 years in Chenalhó; 10 years in Simojovel, and two and a half years in the parish of Guadalupe, in the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas.
On September 13, he participated in the ‘March for Peace’ in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, where more than 20,000 people demanded an end to violence in the state.
Mexico is the second country in Latin America with the most human rights defenders murdered in 2023, with 30 cases, followed by Colombia with 142, according to the ‘Front Line Defenders’ organization.
In the previous Government of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at least 92 murders of defenders were recorded throughout the country, according to the latest report from the National Network of Civil Human Rights Organizations ‘All Rights for All, All and All’ (TDT Network), published in May.
(With information from EFE)
LEE:
Do you like to get informed through Google News? Follow our Showcase to have the best stories
Little text and great information on our X (formerly Twitter), follow us!
