Military forces in Mexico on Sunday (Feb. 22) killed the leader of a drug cartel in Jalisco state whose extorsion demands and threats have resulted in the closure of more than 100 churches.
The Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco wounded Rubén Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), who later died while being transported for medical care. The military operation resulted in the deaths of 30 members of the cartel and 70 arrests in seven states and took the lives of at least 25 members of Mexican military forces.
The CJNG, active in 40 countries including in the United States in criminal business ranging beyond cocaine and fentanyl to avocados and oil, is considered the most dangerous drug cartel in Mexico. Extorting businesses with “rent fees” and taking over entire agricultural concerns in Mexico, CJNG has terrorized business owners as well as church leaders.
In retaliation for the operation against CJNG leaders, cartel members on Sunday set up 252 highways blockades in Jalisco, Michoacán, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato and 16 other states, in addition to setting vehicle fires and launching attacks on gas stations and businesses, reported Mexico’s security cabinet. The blockades had been dismantled by Monday (Feb. 23), according to the government, but schools and transportation in several states remained closed.
Previously several evangelical pastors have been intimidated into paying “protection money” to the CNGJ. In most cases, pastors do not file reports with authorities for fear of reprisals against their safety and that of their families.
For merely “opening a church,” pastors receive messages demanding large sums of money such as: “I’m calling on behalf of the boss. We know where you live, the address of the church, and what your family does, pastor, so you have to pay your dues to the cartel’s plaza boss. If you don’t want things to go badly for you, cooperate.”
The cartel has launched massive telephone extortion campaigns, which church leaders have tried to stem by reporting the phone numbers or by changing their mobile phone numbers. Others have made the difficult decision to close their churches due to the constant harassment and threats.
In 2024 alone, more than 100 evangelical churches closed in Chiapas state due to violence and insecurity generated by organized crime. Reporting harassment by criminal groups, pastors and church members opted to suspend activities.
At that time, the president of the Association of Evangelical Pastors of Tapachula, Gamaliel Fierro Martínez, asserted that the problem was widespread because criminal groups harass the entire population.
“Residents and parishioners have been displaced,” Fierro said. “There are churches that used to hold services throughout the week and now have reduced them to one day a week with varying schedules, because the problem is at its worst in the late afternoon and evening.”
Although the CNGJ initially did not harass people of any religion, “especially Catholics,” violence eventually hit Catholic churches. Believing People (Pueblo Creyente) in the municipality of Chicomuselo, Chiapas, reported in 2023 that pastoral agents and parishioners were detained by members of El Maíz group, considered a social base for the CNGJ; 11 members of Believing People of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas were executed on May 13, 2024 reportedly “for refusing to join any of the organized crime groups.”
Area Catholic religious leaders have denounced human rights abuses, constant threats, intimidation, harassment, dispossession of their natural and material resources, as well as forced migration, persecution, detentions, disappearances, and murders, without any response from the authorities.
Up to 80 percent of murders of religious figures go unpunished in Mexico, according to data from the Multidimensional Catholic Center (CCM). Between 2019 and 2026, 13 priests were murdered in Mexico. The country is considered one of the most dangerous for religious practice due to organized crime and structural violence.
Priests are targeted by organized crime for working in vulnerable communities, defending human rights, or denouncing insecurity, thus becoming “uncomfortable” figures.
Separate Attack
At the same time, evangelical Christians continue to suffer at the hands of villagers practicing Roman Catholicism, tribal religion or a combination of both.
In Chanal, Chiapas state, members of Agua Viva evangelical church were ambushed the night of Jan. 31, they said at a recent press conference.
According to their complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, a church member was returning to his community after printing invitations for an evangelistic campaign when he and others were intercepted at about 7:30 p.m. by Alfredo Núñez Gómez and others.
“Without saying a word, they attacked us,” said the unnamed Christian. “They threw a bottle at me, and when we slowed down, he, along with his son, son-in-law, and wife, beat us.”
The Christians managed to escape and sought help from a witness to part of the attack, Alfredo López Hernández. The investigation file, which includes medical reports, testimonies and audio recordings, also names Marciano Gómez López, the alleged leader of the assailants, as a suspect.
Three women and two men were injured in the assault, including the pastor, who was fighting for his life due to the severity of his wounds. One of the women was injured while trying to defend her husband from the beating.
“What hurts us the most is not just the beating, it’s the impunity,” one of the complainants said. “In Chanal, professing a religion different from the traditional one makes us a target.
The victims expressed fear not only for their physical safety but that of their families and colleagues in the transportation sector, many of whom have been silent witnesses to the growing hostility.
They made a forceful appeal to Chiapas Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca, demanding that his office thoroughly investigate, conduct itself in accordance with the law and assign responsibility without favoritism or impunity.
“We are not condemning anyone prematurely; we simply want what happened to be clarified and for the law to be applied,” the group’s legal advisor stated. “The authorities’ response will be crucial in determining whether there is equal justice in Chiapas or whether certain people have the right to assault and intimidate simply because of our beliefs.”
This latest case of religious intolerance in Chanal, a predominantly Catholic municipality with strong traditions and customs, raised international alarm about the fragility of religious freedom in Mexico’s indigenous regions.
