A Mexican priest publicly denounced Colombian hitmen working for local cartels after they threatened his parish. The complaints in the coastal state Jalisco come weeks after gunmen killed two priests in the northern state of Chihuahua.
The latest incident took place last month in La Loma, Jalisco. In a letter sent to Mexico’s Attorney General and his counterpart in Jalisco, Father Jose Luis Segura Barragan claimed cartel gunmen barged into his church and threatened him and parishioners during mass.
After the service, Fr. Segura and his aide went to talk to the gunmen, who insulted him and claimed control of the region.
The priest claimed the gunmen identified themselves as Colombian with a 35-year-old leader.
The threats against Fr. Segura Barragan come weeks after gunmen from another cartel shot and killed two priests in Chihuahua. In late June, Sinaloa Cartel gunmen led by a man known as “El Chueco” killed Fathers Javier Campos and Joaquín Mora — two Jesuits who tried to stop the murder of a third man as he sought refuge in their church building.
The presence of Colombian gunmen in western Mexico has become more prevalent as Cartel Jalisco New Generation and their rivals, Carteles Unidos, recruit South American terrorists versed in the use of improvised explosive devices of IEDs. Both criminal organizations have shown proficiency in using commercial drones for bomb deliveries.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and other areas to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Jose Luis Lara, a former leading member who helped start the Self-Defense Movement in Michoacán.