Homicide probe opened after priest found dead in southern Mexico

Authorities in southern Mexico have opened a homicide investigation after a Catholic priest who went missing over the weekend was found dead in Guerrero state, according to prosecutors.

The Guerrero State Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on Monday that it has launched an investigation into the killing of Bertoldo Pantaleón Estrada, whose body was discovered in the municipality of Eduardo Neri.

Pantaleón, 58, served as parish priest at San Cristóbal Parish in Mezcala, a small community in the municipality of Eduardo Neri, located in the central region of Guerrero state, southwest of Mexico City. He was last seen on Saturday in the nearby town of Atzala, according to a missing persons notice issued by the state’s search commission.

The Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa announced his disappearance earlier on Monday and requested that authorities activate search protocols. The diocese said the priest had been traveling in the area and was last seen wearing a blue guayabera shirt with white stripes, dark dress pants, and sandals.

Mexico remains one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America for members of the clergy, with advocacy groups reporting that several priests have been kidnapped or killed since the start of the Mexican drug conflict in 2006, particularly in regions affected by organized crime.

In 2022, two Jesuit priests, Javier Campos and Joaquín Mora, were killed inside a church in the mountain town of Cerocahui, in the northern state of Chihuahua near the U.S. border, after trying to protect a man fleeing gunmen. Their deaths led to condemnation from Pope Francis and calls for stronger protection of church workers in Mexico.