Priest Marcelo Pérez Pérez was murdered in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, after having officiated a mass in his church and heading to another temple in broad daylight. Two individuals on a motorcycle attacked him in the public street in the Cuxtitali neighborhood.
Marcelo Pérez Pérez was known for being a controversial figure due to his activism and defense of human rights in the region. In addition to being the parish priest of the Church of Guadalupe, he was linked to a self-defense group called 'El Machete' and with the disappearance of 21 people in the municipality of Pantelhó, where he had also been an activist.
Despite an arrest warrant against him for forced disappearance, thousands of faithful and bishops from Mexico protested in his defense, arguing that it was an unjust persecution. Father Marcelo always defended his innocence and denied any connection with criminal groups.
The motive behind Father Marcelo's murder remains a subject of speculation, but it is suggested that it could be related to his alleged ties with self-defense groups in a region affected by violence. The Catholic community and the local population await answers and justice, while the Attorney General's Office of the State of Chiapas continues the investigation.
The Conciliar Seminary of the Immaculate Conception lamented the death of Marcelo Pérez Pérez, remembering him as a 'shepherd, brother, and friend of his people.' Following the attack, the Attorney General's Office of the State of Chiapas initiated an investigation to identify those responsible for the crime and bring them to justice. The assailants shot at close range, causing the priest's death on the spot.
