Overview

• The Guerrero state prosecutor opened a homicide investigation after the 58-year-old priest’s body was found on Oct. 6 at kilometer 199 of the Mexico–Acapulco highway between Zumpango and Mezcala.
• Preliminary reports state he was discovered in the driver’s seat of his vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds, and investigators are searching for the person who had been traveling with him.
• An operation involving the state prosecutor’s office, the Army, the National Guard and state police located the vehicle and processed the scene; no arrests have been announced.
• Federal security chief Omar García Harfuch said the priest’s driver is considered the main suspect and is being sought, with the motive still undetermined.
• Diocesan leaders and parishioners say they do not know of any driver and demand a thorough probe; funeral rites were held in Mezcala and the body will be taken to his native Changata, highlighting ongoing risks to clergy in Guerrero.