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2 Jesuit priests killed at church in remote Chihuahua town

Two Jesuit priests were killed in the border state of Chihuahua.

Javier Campos Morales, aged 79, and Joaquín César Mora Salazar, 80, were killed this week at a church in remote Cerocahui, Chihuahua, according to a statement from the religious order’s Mexico office condemning the incident and demanding justice. The Jesuits also demanded the return of the two men’s bodies, which they say were taken away by armed men.

On Tuesday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised a thorough investigation. Per information he received that morning, he said that a man was chased into the church and killed before the priests themselves were slain.

Lopez Obrador went on to say that the area has a strong presence of organized crime.

Brief remembrances of both men can be read in Spanish here.

Murphy Woodhouse was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2018 to 2023.