The drug cartel leader killed in Jalisco state on Sunday was responsible for the forced closure of more than 100 churches due to threats and extortion demands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, wounded Rub\u00e9n Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, \u201cEl Mencho,\u201d leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), who later died while being transported for medical care. The military operation resulted in the deaths of 30 members of the cartel and 70 arrests in seven states and took the lives of at least 25 members of Mexico’s military forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CJNG, active in 40 countries, including in the United States, in criminal business ranging beyond cocaine and fentanyl to avocados and oil, is considered the most dangerous drug cartel in Mexico. Extorting businesses with \u201crent fees\u201d and taking over entire agricultural concerns in Mexico, CJNG has terrorized business owners and church leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In retaliation for the operation against CJNG leaders, cartel members on Sunday set up 252 roadway blockades in Jalisco, Michoac\u00e1n, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato and 16 other states, in addition to setting vehicle fires and launching attacks on gas stations and businesses, reported Mexico\u2019s security cabinet. The blockades had been dismantled by Monday, according to the government, but schools and transportation in several states remained closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previously, several Evangelical pastors have been intimidated into paying \u201cprotection money\u201d to the CNGJ. In most cases, pastors don’t file reports with authorities for fear of reprisals against their safety and that of their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For merely \u201copening a church,\u201d pastors receive messages demanding large sums of money such as: \u201cI\u2019m calling on behalf of the boss. We know where you live, the address of the church, and what your family does, pastor, so you have to pay your dues to the cartel\u2019s plaza boss. If you don\u2019t want things to go badly for you, cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cartel has launched massive telephone extortion campaigns, which church leaders have tried to stem by reporting the phone numbers or by changing their mobile phone numbers. Others have made the difficult decision to close their churches due to constant harassment and threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2024 alone, more than 100 Evangelical churches closed in Chiapas state due to violence and insecurity generated by organized crime. Reporting harassment by criminal groups, pastors and church members opted to suspend activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that time, the President of the Association of Evangelical Pastors of Tapachula, Gamaliel Fierro Mart\u00ednez, asserted that the problem was widespread because criminal groups harass the entire population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cResidents and parishioners have been displaced,\u201d Fierro said. \u201cThere are churches that used to hold services throughout the week and now have reduced them to one day a week with varying schedules, because the problem is at its worst in the late afternoon and evening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the CNGJ initially didn’t harass people of any religion, \u201cespecially Catholics,\u201d violence eventually hit Catholic churches. Believing People (Pueblo Creyente) in the municipality of Chicomuselo, Chiapas, reported in 2023 that pastoral agents and parishioners were detained by members of El Ma\u00edz group, considered a social base for the CNGJ; 11 members of Believing People of the Diocese of San Crist\u00f3bal de las Casas were executed on May 13, 2024, reportedly \u201cfor refusing to join any of the organized crime groups.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Area Catholic religious leaders have denounced human rights abuses, constant threats, intimidation, harassment, dispossession of their natural and material resources, as well as forced migration, persecution, detentions, disappearances and murders, without any response from the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up to 80% of murders of religious figures go unpunished in Mexico, according to data from the Multidimensional Catholic Center (CCM). Between 2019 and 2026, 13 priests were murdered in Mexico. The country is considered one of the most dangerous for religious practice due to organized crime and structural violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Priests are targeted by organized crime for working in vulnerable communities, defending human rights, or denouncing insecurity, thus becoming \u201cuncomfortable\u201d figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Separate attack<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, Evangelical Christians continue to suffer at the hands of villagers practicing Roman Catholicism, tribal religion or a combination of both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Chanal, Chiapas state, members of Agua Viva Evangelical church were ambushed the night of Jan. 31, they said at a recent press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to their complaint with the Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office, a church member was returning to his community after printing invitations for an evangelistic campaign when he and others were intercepted at about 7:30 p.m. by Alfredo N\u00fa\u00f1ez G\u00f3mez and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout saying a word, they attacked us,\u201d said the unnamed Christian. \u201cThey threw a bottle at me, and when we slowed down, he, along with his son, son-in-law, and wife, beat us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Christians managed to escape and sought help from a witness to the attack. The investigation file, which includes medical reports, testimonies and audio recordings, also names Marciano G\u00f3mez L\u00f3pez, the alleged leader of the assailants, as a suspect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three women and two men were injured in the assault, including the pastor, who was fighting for his life due to the severity of his wounds. One of the women was injured while trying to defend her husband from the beating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat hurts us the most is not just the beating, it\u2019s the impunity,\u201d one of the complainants said. \u201cIn Chanal, professing a religion different from the traditional one makes us a target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The victims expressed fear not only for their physical safety but also for their families and colleagues in the transportation sector, many of whom have been silent witnesses to the growing hostility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They made a forceful appeal to Chiapas Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca, demanding that his office thoroughly investigate, conduct itself in accordance with the law and assign responsibility without favoritism or impunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are not condemning anyone prematurely; we simply want what happened to be clarified and for the law to be applied,\u201d the group\u2019s legal advisor stated. \u201cThe authorities\u2019 response will be crucial in determining whether there is equal justice in Chiapas or whether certain people have the right to assault and intimidate simply because of our beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This latest case of religious intolerance in Chanal, a predominantly Catholic municipality with strong traditions and customs, raised international alarm about the fragility of religious freedom in Mexico\u2019s indigenous regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article was originally published at\u00a0Christian Daily International\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The drug cartel leader killed in Jalisco state on Sunday was responsible for the forced closure of more than 100 churches due to threats and extortion demands. The Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, wounded Rub\u00e9n Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, \u201cEl Mencho,\u201d leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), who later died while being transported for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[729,740,109],"coauthors":[364],"class_list":{"0":"post-10449","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-faith","8":"tag-drugs","9":"tag-mexico","10":"tag-persecution"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10452,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10449\/revisions\/10452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10449"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=10449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}