Violence against Catholic Religious Agents in Mexico: 2006-2024

Abstract

This article analyzes the increase in violence against Catholic religious agents in Mexico during the period 2006-2024, within the context of the war on drug trafficking and the fragmentation of organized crime. Using a combined approach of hermeneutic analysis and data mining, and drawing on reports from the Centro Católico Multimedial (CCM), the Observatorio de Libertad Religiosa en América Latina (OLIRE), and Open Doors, the study documents the geographic and temporal patterns of homicides, forced displacements, desecrations, and other forms of violence directed against priests, religious workers, and pastoral personnel. The findings reveal that the areas with the highest incidence of violence against religious actors coincide with those where two or more fragmented organized crime groups contest territorial control and criminal governance, particularly in the states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Veracruz, and Chihuahua. The article argues that this violence does not stem from religious persecution, but rather from the confrontation between the pastoral and social work of religious agents and the interests of criminal networks operating in symbiosis with the state.