It is not uncommon for church leaders in Mexico to bravely act as negotiators between cartels in an attempt to resolve conflicts without violence. “Pastors and members of all the churches have participated, [and] helped in pacifying the country,“ says President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, according to the Associated Press. Yet sometimes the criminal networks resent these efforts and persecute the church leaders through kidnappings, hostage situations, ransoms, and physical violence.
Salvador is not the only Christian leader to be targeted by violent cartels. Last year, a priest was found shot to death in a vehicle (the ninth priest killed in Mexico in the last four years, per the AP). Another church leader was kidnapped and tortured for three days in 2016; and a few years prior, a cartel kidnapped and murdered an additional Christian leader in Guerrero. As the Global Conflict Tracker reported, “Mexico faces a crisis of kidnappings, disappearances, and other criminal violence that has left over thirty-thousand people dead each year since 2018,” due largely to gangs and drug cartels. “Enough already of so much pain, of so many murders. Enough already of so much crime,” lamented a local church leader in Guerrero state.
In Salvador Rangel’s case, we are pleased to report that the bishop’s life was spared. Prayers for his health are requested, as he was hospitalized after his release.
Christian persecution in Juarez, Mexico
Violence against Christians is certainly not limited to Guerrero state. Another Mexican pastor was shot dead a few years ago in the troubled border city of Juarez, Mexico. Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Garcia was killed as he was being chased by unidentified assailants believed to be members of the drug trade.
During an interview prior to his death, the pastor spoke of his 24-year-old son’s murder during a particularly gruesome period of violence in 2009. “We had decided to try to rescue the city, but I never imagined we would become a part of the statistics,” he remarked. Eighteen months after his son’s death, Eduardo’s daughter was kidnapped and he was forced to pay a ransom to secure her release. “These [criminal] groups are affecting the whole city—and especially the Christian community because we are a people of peace,” says Jorge Rodriguez, Director of Religious Affairs in Juarez. “In many cases, the abuses are not even reported, but we have specific cases of pastors being kidnapped and children of pastors being kidnapped, such as in the case of Pastor Eduardo Garcia and his family.”
Chito A., a church leader in Mexico, shares that congregants who tithe are also at risk of persecution. He explains that cartels will target churches on Sundays, forcing attendees to hand over cash, wallets, watches, jewelry and more. “The situation was very difficult in Ciudad Juarez. Lots of pastors were kidnapped … We had a period of calm, but … the violence has started increasing again. Pastors are starting to be extorted, leaders threatened with kidnapping, and I believe that among the pastors there is fear because of what we lived and experienced seven or eight years ago.” Adrian L., a church musician in Mexico, says the cartels have made remarks such as, “If you don’t pay, we are going to kill your children, or burn your house. We are going to do many things to you if you don’t pay.” Some church leaders are fearful of reporting the persecution, due to threats of violence and extortion.
Please join us in a prayer for believers, congregants and church leaders in Mexico.
Lord, we lift up Salvador Rangel and Your servants in Mexico who put themselves at incredible risk to spread the gospel. We thank You that Salvador was found alive. We pray for emotional and physical healing in the aftermath of his kidnapping. Please give him strength, rest and comfort. Remind the church leaders in Mexico of the strength and encouragement found in Psalm 31:24: “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” We pray against the cartel violence in Mexico and ask You, Lord, to bring justice, safety and peace. Amen.
