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Mexican Bishops Demand Investigation into Priest's Murder
Confirmed
In Short: Mexico’s bishops are calling for a thorough investigation into the murder of Father Román de la Cruz Hernández.
Mexico’s bishops are demanding a thorough investigation into the murder of Father Román de la Cruz Hernández, pastor of Santa Cruz in Huejutla, Hidalgo state, according to a Sept. 16 statement from the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM).
The priest was found dead with gunshot wounds along a stretch of highway on Sept. 15. Mexico’s bishops expressed their indignation and sadness over the crime and their solidarity with the Diocese of Huejutla.
According to the Catholic Multimedia Center, 28 incidents of violence against Church members, including the murders of four priests, have been recorded during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s term.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled an industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State, arresting a Mexican national described as a drug kingpin.
The NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit identified and arrested Arturo Carrera Loaiza, who was attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport. Five people were arrested during the operation, including Jose Villa Ochoa, a 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert.
The investigation began with the arrest of three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16, leading to the arrest of Loaiza on August 19.
What's confirmed
- The priest was found dead with gunshot wounds along a stretch of highway.
- Mexico’s bishops are demanding that authorities conduct “a thorough investigation” to clarify the circumstances surrounding the murder of Father Román de la Cruz Hernández, pastor of Santa Cruz in Huejutla, Hidalgo state.
- In a Sept. 16 statement, the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym) expressed its indignation and sadness over the crime as well as its solidarity with the Diocese of Huejutla, Hidalgo, to which De la Cruz belonged According to the bishops' conference, the priest’s murder took place on Sept. 15.
- According to the Catholic Multimedia Center, 28 incidents of violence against Church members, including the murders of four priests, have been recorded during Claudia Sheinbaum’s term as president of Mexico so far.
- The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled another industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and arrested a Mexican national described as a drug kingpin who was attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
- The latest operation followed months of investigation into a wider network behind a series of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories uncovered in different parts of the country this year.
- The NDLEA said Mr Loaiza entered the country on 10 June with another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
- A month later, on 17 June, NDLEA operatives arrested another Mexican, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerians at a suspected methamphetamine laboratory in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
What's still developing
- Marwa, who was represented by the agency's Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said investigations by the NDLEA's Special Operations Unit into an earlier operation in Oyo State led to the identification and eventual arrest of the Mexican national, Arturo Carrera Loaiza.
- “Through a clinical, simultaneous operation executed by the elite operatives of our Special Operations Unit (SOU), we have successfully dismantled a sophisticated, transnational methamphetamine production syndicate run jointly by a Nigerian drug cartel and their Mexican counterparts,” Mr Marwa said.
- Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), said the investigation had uncovered suspected attempts by transnational drug syndicates to establish methamphetamine production facilities in Nigeria’s forests and rural communities.
- However, the agency said its subsequent investigation produced evidence it believed linked him to suspected methamphetamine production.
- Marwa, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the arrest followed months of investigation into a wider network behind clandestine drug laboratories uncovered in Ogun and Oyo states.
- According to Babafemi, the arrest of Loaiza and the subsequent dismantling of the Ebonyi State facility followed months of investigation into a wider criminal network suspected of attempting to establish industrial-scale methamphetamine production facilities in Nigeria.
- The Agency said photographs recovered from its investigation showed Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment believed to be associated with methamphetamine production.
- The suspect in the recent murder was identified by the media as Emmanuel Abayisenga, who is also the main suspect in an arson attack July 2020 on the cathedral in Nantes, northwestern France.