Mexican priest shot by mistake struggles for life in Tabasco
"It's a slow process of recovery."
A priest who was shot several times in Mexico last week is still struggling for his life at the hospital, according to the Diocese of Tabasco. Ecclesiastical and civic authorities believe the priest was likely shot in a case of mistaken identity, amid ongoing drug violence in the region.
Father Héctor Alejandro Pérez, parochial vicar at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Villahermosa was leaving his home early Monday morning to visit a sick person, when two unknown men riding motorcycles approached his truck and shot several times into the truck.
Pérez was shot in the arm, chest, and stomach. A bullet grazed his head. According to the Diocese of Tabasco, the priest had wounds in several internal organs, his arm was broken, and he lost enough blood to see local parishes campaign for blood donations.
The priest underwent two surgeries and remains in intensive care, with breathing support through a mask. Physicians have said the situation will remain critical as his internal organs heal over the next two weeks..
“His condition has been stable. It's a slow process of recovery, given the injuries his body received. But he is not getting worse,” Fr. Roberto Sánchez Cabrera, spokesman for the Tabasco diocese, told The Pillar.
Police have not been able to identify the perpetrators or a motive. But both Church and the civil authorities say Pérez was likely mistaken for somebody else.
“He is a very young priest, he's only 30. He came back from his studies in Rome last year and assumed the parish,” said Sánchez, who described Pérez as “a sensitive, energetic, hard-working priest.”
In a website profile online, Peréz explained that during Holy Week in 2012, while on a parish missionary trip, he met in a rural village a very old priest, who was still “wearing himself out a lot.”
That was, for Peréz, a sign of his call for priesthood.
Pérez studied theology at the University of Navarra, in Spain, and completed a doctorate in dogmatic theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
“He is very well-prepared as a priest. And he is a man of peace,” Sánchez said.
Since the attack, dozens of lay members of his parish have been expressing on social media their love for Pérez and praying that he will soon recover. The Diocese of Tabasco has been promoting several Masses and other prayer gatherings dedicated to his recovery.
Sánchez said that the atmosphere in Tabasco, as in many other parts of Mexico, has been one of frequent violence, with criminal gangs confronting each other and many times impacting the lives of innocent civilians.
Neighboring state Chiapas has suffered over several years from a bloody dispute between large drug cartels. Indigenous and rural communities were attacked and displaced by the criminals on numerous occasions, leading the local dioceses to issue statements last year warning civic authorities that it would be impossible to organize the 2024 general elections in the area.
In October, Father Marcelo Pérez — not related — whose work for environmental protection and for human rights was well known in the region, was shot dead by unknown men in motorcycles after celebrating Mass in San Cristobal de las Casas.
“We have similar issues here. The social fabric is unraveling and human life is not respected,” Sánchez said.
The spokesman said that before the elections last year, several candidates committed to the National Dialogue for Peace, a campaign launched by the Church after the murder of two Jesuit priests in 2022.
The initiative involved hundreds of clerics, scholars, NGO leaders, and civil authorities, who developed a broad plan to build peace in Mexico.
According to José Antonio Morales Notario, who heads the State Human Rights Commission in Tabasco, insecurity has grown in the region since last year, when the state government changed.
“The new governor didn't want to negotiate with the cartels, so they have been carrying out actions in order to confront the administration,” he told The Pillar. At the same time, the two major groups – Jalisco New Generation Cartel and La Barredora (the sweeper truck) – have been disputing territory.
Morales said that the situation remains under control of the state government, with police operations being continuously carried out and a relative protection of the civilians.
“The police have been inspecting motorcycles. We hope the perpetrators of the attack on the priest will be identified and arrested,” he said.
Let's all pause to pray.
We have to pray for the protection of our good priests. Given this priest's high level of education at two very orthodox religious universities where he was sent by his bishop, he was likely to advance far and that along with his obvious dedication to saving souls meant that he would be a prime target for Satan and the cartels who serve him through Satanic cults like Santa Muerte. When past Mexican president Calderon sent forces to fight the cartels, they would destroy multiple shrines dedicated to Santa Muerte and it was known that drug shipments were "blessed" or rather cursed through Satanic rituals. This was unlikely to have been a mistaken identity crime.