Two Jesuits were murdered in their church on Monday June 20 in northern Mexico, the Society of Jesus said on Tuesday, a crime attributed by the President of the Republic to “
organized crime
”.
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"
We denounce the homicide of our brothers Javier Campos Morales and Joaquín César Mora Salazar
," the religious order said in a statement after the double murder in the state of Chihuahua.
"
We demand justice and the recovery of the bodies of our brothers who were removed from the temple by armed persons
," the statement added.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday confirmed the crime, which occurred when armed men entered the church pursuing others who were apparently seeking refuge.
“
Organized crime
”
During his daily press conference, Lopez Obrador acknowledged that several municipalities in the Sierra de Chihuahua were victims of the presence of “
organized crime
”.
“
It would seem that we already have information on the possible persons responsible for this crime
,” added the president.
Experts say the Chihuahua Mountains are a drug smuggling route into the United States, a route fought over by drug cartels.
The Society of Jesus has asked for "
protective measures
", because these crimes are not "
isolated
" facts, since "
every day men and women are killed arbitrarily
".
Mexico's Episcopal Conference has also condemned the "
tragedy
" by calling for "
a rapid investigation
", as well as more security for the country's religious.
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Members of various religious orders attempt in some places in Mexico to act as mediators between the locals and the killers - the "
sicaires
" - of organized crime.
In the states of Michoacan (west) and Guerrero (south), some clerics rely on dialogue with drug traffickers to pacify these regions.
Thirty priests have been murdered in the last decade in Mexico, according to the NGO Centro Católico Multimedial.
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