A former Roman Catholic bishop famous for trying to intercede between drug cartels in Mexico was apparently kidnapped, but later found and taken to a hospital, the Mexican Bishops’ Council announced Monday.
Mexico’s church leaders said in an earlier statement that Ms. Bishop Emeritus Salvador Rangel, who disappeared on Saturday, called on his prisoners to be released.
Mexico’s Catholic bishops host peace talks with drug cartel leaders
But the council later declined to say how he was found and released, saying: “He has been located and remains in hospital.”
Earlier, the council said Rangel’s health was deteriorating and asked his captors to allow him to take medicine as a “humanitarian act.”
Rangel was the bishop of the notoriously violent Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa in the southern state of Guerrero, where drug cartels have long fought turf wars. In an effort later approved by the government, Rangel tried to persuade the gang leaders to stop the bloodshed and reach an agreement.
Rangel appears to have been kidnapped in the state of Morelos, just north of Guerrero. The bishops’ statement underscores the very delicate and dangerous tread that prelates must navigate in Mexico’s cartel-controlled areas to avoid antagonizing drug traffickers whose whims can end their lives in an instant. It reflects the line.
A retired Roman Catholic bishop famous for trying to intercede between drug cartels in Mexico was apparently kidnapped, but was later found and taken to hospital. (Fox News)
“Given his deteriorating health condition, we strongly but respectfully urge those holding Ms. Rangel to ensure that, as an act of humanity, he receives the necessary medication in a timely and appropriate manner. “I call on you,” the Bishops’ Council wrote in advance of Ms. Rangel’s remarks. It’s been found.
It is unclear who kidnapped Rangel. An extremely violent drug gang known as Tracos, Ardiros, and Familia Michoacana operates in the area. No one immediately claimed responsibility.
If there is any damage to Rangel, it is the most sensational attack on a church official since 1993, when drug cartel gunmen killed Bishop Juan Posadas Ocampo in an apparent case of mistaken identity during a shootout in Guadalajara. It would be a serious crime. airport.
Guerrero state prosecutors confirmed the abduction, but gave no further details, saying only that they were ready to cooperate with Morelos state prosecutors. Morelos, like Guerrero, has been plagued by violence, murder, and kidnappings over the years.
Mr. Rangel’s former parish said in a statement that Mr. Rangel was “much loved and respected in our diocese.”
In February, other bishops announced they had helped reach a ceasefire between two warring drug cartels in Guerrero state.
Pastor José Filiberto Velázquez, who was aware of the February negotiations but did not participate, said the negotiations involved leaders of the Familia Michoacana cartel and the Tracos gang, also known as the Mountain Cartel. Stated.
Bishops and priests are trying to get the cartels to talk with each other in hopes of reducing bloody turf wars. The implicit assumption is that the cartels will not commit as many murders, but will divide the region to impose extortion fees and drug trafficking.
Earlier, José de Jesús González Hernández, the current bishop of Chilpancingo Chilapa, along with three other bishops in the province, had been in talks with cartel bosses to negotiate a peace deal in another region. said.
Mr. Hernandez said at the time that those negotiations failed because drug cartels did not want to stop fighting over territory in the Pacific coast state. These turf wars have shut down transportation in at least two cities and led to dozens of killings in recent months.
“They asked for a conditional cease-fire” regarding the division of territory, Gonzalez Hernández said of talks held a few weeks ago. “However, one of the participants could not agree to these terms.”
President Andres Manuel López Obrador said in February that he would approve such talks.
“Priests, pastors and members of all churches participated and contributed to calming the country. I think it’s a very good thing,” López Obrador said.
Critics say the talks demonstrate the extent to which the government’s policy of not confronting cartels is forcing average citizens to work out individual peace deals with gangs on their own. Says.
A parish priest whose Michoacán town has been controlled by one cartel or another for years said in February that the talks were “a tacit recognition that they (the government) cannot provide safe conditions.” said.
“We definitely have to talk to certain people, especially when it comes to people’s safety, but that doesn’t mean we agree with it,” said the priest, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Ta.
For example, he said, local residents have asked cartel bosses to inquire about the well-being of their missing relatives. That’s a role the church doesn’t like.
“If the government had done its job correctly, we wouldn’t have to do this,” the priest said.
In February, Rangel told The Associated Press that truces between gangs often don’t last long.
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“They’re somewhat vulnerable because in the world of drug traffickers, it’s so easy to break agreements and betrayal,” Rangel said at the time.
Although priests are widely respected, they are never safe in Mexico.
In 2023, a Roman Catholic priest was murdered in the western Mexican state of Michoacan. He is the ninth priest to be killed in the country in the past four years, according to the church’s Catholic Multimedia Center.
