The Manhunt for Priest Killer El Chueco & The Archbishop Criticizes AMLO's Security Strategy

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As pressure continues to mount for law enforcement to catch José Noriel Portillo Gil, alias “El Chueco”, the killer of two Jesuit priests, authorities announced that El Chueco’s cousin was arrested in Chihuahua. Meanwhile a group of hitmen held up the bishop of Zacatecas for a search at a cartel checkpoint. 

The Archbishop of all of Mexico and longtime ally of Pope Francis, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes criticized President AMLO's security strategy and called upon him to stop the "rivers of blood". These sentiments were echoed during the funeral mass for the priests killed on June 20, 2022. For more details on the homicides themselves, please see this previous story.

Chueco’s Cousin Arrested 

On Thursday, June 23, 2022, state police officers searching for El Chueco, encountered two suspicious armed men who were driving a pickup truck on a dirt road near the small town of Cuiteco, within the municipality of Urique. The two men were said to have tried to escape once they noticed the state officers but were ultimately unsuccessful at escaping. 

Officers found in their possession 2 long barrel firearms, 1 short barrel firearm, 10 packages of cocaine and 5 packages of marijuana. Further detail about the weight/amount of the two drugs is unspecified in the statement released by Chihuahua Public Security.

The two men were arrested and identified themselves as Humberto “BC” and César Iván Portillo “P”, who is a cousin of El Chueco. Both were taken to the state Attorney General’s Office. 

Cartel Hitmen Hold Up the Bishop of Zacatecas

The Catholic bishop of Zacatecas, named Sigifredo Noriega Barceló was on a scheduled tour of the northern part of the state of Jalisco, going from the town of Huejuquilla el Alto down to the town of Tenzompa, when his group was stopped by a number of armed men. 

In a later radio interview, the bishop said "What immediately caught my attention [about the checkpoint] is that it was neither the National Guard nor the Army. They were people from one of the criminal groups.”

He said they were "doing their own thing. Not letting any other groups pass.” He said that after his group identified themselves as the retinue of the bishop, the armed men allowed their group to continue on. 

"It captured my attention because it's the first time I've been personally impacted - in person, by an incident like that," he said. 

The bishop reflected that "violence is already seen as part of normality". In recent days, the bishop asked the priests of his Diocese to be cautious during their movement within Zacatecas. He said that there is some fear among the priests, but he has urged them to adopt the appropriate security measures, since, he said, "I do not want martyrs."

He added that there are no special security measures for priests. "We take the measures that everyone takes. There is no special protection" since dangerous times such as these are when the people most need the clergy to be close.

Later, the archbishop of Guadalajara, Cardinal José Francisco Robles Ortega affirmed the bishop’s story, saying that he too had been stopped at cartel checkpoints when he traveled through the same general region. The cardinal said he encountered multiple cartel checkpoints in the municipalities of Totatiche and Villa Guerrero.

"What I have to say is why? With what authority does an organized crime group have that they get to block you, stop you and investigate you? Why?" questioned Robles Ortega.

He said that "obviously" the checkpoints in the area were set up by "organized crime" and the armed men usually demand people tell where they are coming from, where they are going, and what they plan to do. 

He says his personal experience is "very normal and commonplace" for most people.

"It is run-of-the-mill. It was not the first time it has happened to me. I have been to these areas and there are checkpoint guards with big guns, with long barrel guns. Now, there are two checkpoints on the same route.”

He said that in most of the towns northern Jalisco, priests had to request permission from the "person in charge of the plaza" in order to host the patron saint festivals. And, he said, that person would always demand that they get to take 50% of donations given to the church during the festivals, otherwise they would not give them their permission. 

Various Catholic Institutions Call Upon the Government

June 22, 2022 - Jesuit University System 

On June 22, 2022, during a panel held as part of the annual meeting of the Jesuit University System in Leon, Guanajuato, the rectors discussed President Lopez Obrador's National Peace Plan.

"Those eight measures [of the National Peace Plan] were diluted and only the National Guard, a militarized police force, was left as really the only measure to secure the country. Today we have to say: that strategy failed," said Rector Mario Ernesto Patrón Sánchez. 

Rector Juan Luis Hernández Avendaño said that "when the government does not have territorial control and allows armed groups to control it, that is what we call a failed state. And unfortunately for many years in Mexico the neighborhoods, the villages are being controlled by cartel members and the government is absent. The people of Mexico are alone, abandoned to our fates, subjected to the law of the strongest, subjected to the law of the jungle. We are subject to the law of kidnapping, extortion and murder.”

Alexander Paul Zatyrka Pacheco said that he regretted that society was getting used to this level of violence and that the authorities blame each other, without solving the cases. 

“They throw the ball at each other. It is evident that these political groups are not going to act if there is no pressure from civil society," he said.

June 23, 2022 - Mexican Episcopal Conference 

Ramón Castro Castro, the secretary general of the Mexican Episcopal Conference (an organization of Catholic bishops), released a video statement on June 23, 2022. In it he said "we stand with our people and say that we expect a response during this escalation of violence from civil authorities at all levels [of government]. It is the responsibility of those who govern to procure justice and to promote peace and harmony in social coexistence.” 

"This reality of violence hurts us. Our Mexico is running red from the blood of so many dead and disappeared, among them 27 priests, including the Jesuit fathers who were murdered by organized crime.  Thus we personally identify with the thousands of victims from our people who have also met this end; with the tens of thousands of missing persons whose families are still searching for them.” 

He said they also want to appeal “to those who are responsible for each and every one of these atrocious incidents of death and destruction against their own brothers. We remind them that we are all a part of the same people. We urge them to stop killing their own brothers and to stop violating society’s peace, to regain the fear of God, and to make his law prevail, which tells us: Thou shalt not kill.”

“We beseech you, we beg you, we demand in the name of God, enough of so much evil and hatred. We all want peace."

June 25, 2022 - Father Avila speaks at the funeral mass

On June 25, 2022, the funeral mass for the murdered Jesuit priests was held in the church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the city of Chihuahua, located in the state of the same name. 

Jesuit priest Javier Avila said during the mass: "Respectfully I ask, we ask, Mr. President of the Republic, review your public security project, because we are not doing well, and this is a commonly felt sentiment. This event is unfortunately not isolated in our country, a country invaded by violence and impunity.” 

"Hugs are no longer enough to cover the bullets," said Avila, who is the leader of the Jesuit community in the Diocese of the Sierra Tarahumara. 

“The bishops have called for a national dialogue and we want to support this initiative. We call on society and authorities to no longer exacerbate the country's polarization, we need to build bridges to find paths of peace. We want to work with each and every one to create those conditions of peace that we so much need”, added Luis Gerardo Moro Madrid.

“We can no longer forget that in Mexico we have reached, between 1964 and 2022, 100,000 missing persons, 122,000 murders, that there is greater territorial control by organized crime, and we all know this - that the consumption and sale of drugs is growing in all parts of the country, and that violence has become a way of resolving conflicts, a manifestation of power and a daily occurrence.”

June 26, 2022 - Arquidiócesis Primada

On June 26, the Archbishop of all of Mexico released an editorial in which he called upon the federal government to review its security strategy, pointing out that the country "has a river of blood running through it" due to growing violence and impunity for organized crime.

Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, who became head of the Catholic church in Mexico by appointment of Pope Francis in 2018, wrote that the pain left by the murders of the Jesuit priests is great, "but greater is the pain of knowing that there are thousands of dead in Mexico".

In addition, they quoted the words of Luis Gerardo Moro Madrid, saying that "the blood of Pedro, Javier and Joaquin joins the river of blood that runs through our country". He also wrote:

"We want justice and we want peace. We want a safe Mexico and we want to see an end to this shameful impunity. If in 72 hours they managed to find the bodies of two priests and a tour guide, and progress within the homicide investigation, why do they not do this with so many other unsolved cases?

The level of impunity in Mexico is very high; the pressure of public opinion will motivate the authorities to resolve a few media cases, but what about the thousands of families that, in addition to being fractured by the murder of a loved one, will never get to see justice?

We join the call of Father Javier Ávila, a Jesuit priest from the Sierra Tarahumara:

'Our tone is peaceful, but loud and clear. We invite government actions to finally put an end to the prevailing impunity in our society.'

The promise to catch the murderer of these Jesuit priests is no longer enough, because catching an organized crime leader will not solve the problem of violence in Mexico. We want a promise of a better future, where peace and justice reign, where impunity is null and where people can walk the streets safely.

[...]As a church, we are willing to work down in the trenches to achieve this. In their most recent message, the Bishops of Mexico called for a national dialogue with the purpose of undertaking concrete actions to build this path to peace. We agree and encourage this call: we want to work together to build bridges, leave polarization behind and rebuild the social fabric for the benefit of a better Mexico."

Cousin Arrest Sources: Statement From Chihuahua Public Security, La Jornada, El Sol de Mexico, Vanguardia, ADN 40, Quinta Fuerza, El Comentario

Bishop Cartel Checkpoint Sources:  Zeta Tijuana, El Financiero

Catholic Institutions Call Upon Gov Sources: Milenio, LatinUs, SwissInfo, Quiero TV, Razon, El Universal, Desde le Fe, Zeta Tijuana