Mexican Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, a member of the Tzotzil Indigenous people and a longtime activist for Indigenous rights and farm laborers, was shot dead Sunday, October 20, 2024, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico.
Two assailants on a motorcycle shot Pérez while he was in his van after he finished celebrating Mass at the Guadalupe church. Pérez had served his community for two decades as a religious leader and peace negotiator in a region plagued by crime, violence, and land disputes.
Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel described Pérez as “a priest very focused on his vocation, very prayerful, and very committed to his people.”
The killing occurred amid escalating violence in Chiapas, where approximately 500 murders were recorded between January and August 2024, up from 309 during the same period the previous year. The surge in violence is linked to territorial disputes between the Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who are fighting for control of lucrative smuggling routes and extorting migrants crossing through the state toward the U.S. border.
Pérez had received multiple death threats over the years but continued his work as a peace activist. The UN human rights office in Mexico had previously warned about increasing threats and attacks against him due to his advocacy for justice and Indigenous peoples’ rights.
Chiapas Governor Rutilio Escandón condemned what he called “the cowardly assassination of father Marcelo Pérez” on social media platform X, stating, “We will collaborate with all the authorities so his death doesn’t go unpunished and those guilty face the courts.”
The Mexican bishops’ conference said Pérez was “a dedicated pastor and a prophetic voice who tirelessly fought for peace with truth and justice in Chiapas.”
Mexico has become the world’s most dangerous country for Catholic clergy, with at least 52 priests murdered since 2006. The Jesuits have called on the Mexican government to take action, stating that the violence in the region reflects a structural problem requiring an urgent and comprehensive response from the state.