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Father Javier Campos Morales, 79, was a Jesuit priest who was well-known among members of the small villages scattered throughout Chihuahua's Urique municipality, which is dotted by mountains and waterfalls that draw tourists from all over Mexico. Affectionately referred to as "El Gallo" because of his imitation of a rooster and love for singing, Father Campos would crisscross the unforgiving terrain on his motorcycle while ministering to impoverished indigenous communities with his colleague Father Joaquín Mora, 81.
Both Father Campos and Father Mora were familiar faces among the Indigenous Tarahumara, known as Raramuri, for their multifaceted roles as social workers, advocates, and priests. Father Campos spoke two Raramuri dialects and participated in their cultural dances and rituals.
On June 20, 2022, local tour guide Pedro Eliodoro Palma Gutiérrez, 60, ran into the Misión de San Francisco Javier in the isolated village of Cerocahui, in the Tarahumara mountains in Mexico’s northern state of Chihuahua. Palma was seeking protection in the church from armed assailants who were chasing him, and the two Jesuit priests agreed to shelter him.
Shortly thereafter, multiple gunmen entered the church and murdered the three men. According to another priest, he witnessed the assailants throwing the bodies in the back of a pickup truck, despite his pleas to the assailants to leave the bodies.
At around 7:00 PM, the incident was reported to emergency services and police officers and members of the Western Zone Prosecutor's Office arrived on scene, in addition to the State Public Security Secretariat. Upon arrival, they found blood inside the church but no bodies.
The Governor of Chihuahua, Maru Campos, announced on Wednesday that the bodies of both priests and the tour guide were recovered but refused to provide more details. Provincial Father Luis Gerardo Moro was tasked with identifying the bodies of the priests, which were released shortly after 2 AM on Thursday.
Federal authorities believe that José Noriel Portillo, better known as "El Chueco" (The Crooked One), is responsible for the murders. El Chueco is the head of Gente Nueva, a local branch of the Sinaloa Cartel operating in the Urique municipality. El Chueco has been operating in the area since 2017 and is believed to be responsible for the 2017 attack on headquarters of the Urique State Security Commission in which multiple ministers were beaten and two security officers were injured.
He is also believed to be responsible for the 2018 murder of American tourist Patrick Braxton-Andrews, who was abducted from La Playita. His body was found a month later on a stretch of road between Urique and Batopilas.
Tributes for both Father Campos and Father Mora will be held on Saturday, June 25, in the state capital. Their bodies will then be transferred to Cerocahui for a night vigil the following day. They will be laid to rest in the atrium of the church they were murdered in.
The Attorney General's Office is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the capture of El Chueco.
English-language coverage:
Elena Reina, "Two priests and a tour guide killed, four tourists missing in Mexico," El País, 22 June 2022.
Julian Resendiz, "Mexican police find bodies of slain Jesuit priests, tour guide," Border Report, 22 June 2022.
María Verza, "2 priests killed in Mexico devoted decades to remote region," KSAT, 22 June 2022.
Jonah McKeown, "Two Jesuit priests killed in a church in Mexico," Catholic News Agency, 21 June 2022.
Spanish-language coverage:
José María Soberanes Díez, "El asesinato de los jesuitas y los derechos humanos," El Universal, 23 June 2022.
"Entrega Fiscalía Zona Occidente cuerpos de sacerdotes jesuitas y guía de turistas," El Heraldo de Juárez, 23 June 2022.
Araceli Hernández Zamora, "El padre provincial reconoció los cuerpos de los jesuitas: Javier Ávila," W Radio, 23 June 2022.
Mario Camarillo, "Hallan cuerpos de sacerdotes jesuitas y del guía de turistas asesinados en Chihuahua," La Hoy de Crónica, 22 June 2022.
Alejandra Sigala, "Prófugo de la justicia y homicidios en Urique: los crímenes de “El Chueco” que lo volvieron blanco de Javier Corral," Infobae, 22 June 2022.
Rubén Villalpando and Jesús Estrada, "Morita y Gallo dedicaron su vida al servicio de los rarámuris," La Jornada, 22 June 2022.
Hugo Valencia, "Comisión Permanente guarda minuto de silencio por sacerdotes asesinados en Chihuahua," Noticieros Televisa, 22 June 2022.
"Cerocahui, un pueblo entre el tren Chepe y el silencio profundo de la Sierra Tarahumara," Infobae, 22 June 2022.
Luciano Campos Garza, "Uno de los jesuitas asesinados en Chihuahua había celebrado 50 años de sacerdocio," Proceso, 22 June 2022.
Richard Holguín, "Mataron a guía de turistas junto a sacerdotes, hay cuatro desaparecidos más: Gobierno," El Heraldo de Chihuahua, 21 June 2022.
Both Father Campos and Father Mora were familiar faces among the Indigenous Tarahumara, known as Raramuri, for their multifaceted roles as social workers, advocates, and priests. Father Campos spoke two Raramuri dialects and participated in their cultural dances and rituals.
On June 20, 2022, local tour guide Pedro Eliodoro Palma Gutiérrez, 60, ran into the Misión de San Francisco Javier in the isolated village of Cerocahui, in the Tarahumara mountains in Mexico’s northern state of Chihuahua. Palma was seeking protection in the church from armed assailants who were chasing him, and the two Jesuit priests agreed to shelter him.
Shortly thereafter, multiple gunmen entered the church and murdered the three men. According to another priest, he witnessed the assailants throwing the bodies in the back of a pickup truck, despite his pleas to the assailants to leave the bodies.
At around 7:00 PM, the incident was reported to emergency services and police officers and members of the Western Zone Prosecutor's Office arrived on scene, in addition to the State Public Security Secretariat. Upon arrival, they found blood inside the church but no bodies.
The Governor of Chihuahua, Maru Campos, announced on Wednesday that the bodies of both priests and the tour guide were recovered but refused to provide more details. Provincial Father Luis Gerardo Moro was tasked with identifying the bodies of the priests, which were released shortly after 2 AM on Thursday.
Federal authorities believe that José Noriel Portillo, better known as "El Chueco" (The Crooked One), is responsible for the murders. El Chueco is the head of Gente Nueva, a local branch of the Sinaloa Cartel operating in the Urique municipality. El Chueco has been operating in the area since 2017 and is believed to be responsible for the 2017 attack on headquarters of the Urique State Security Commission in which multiple ministers were beaten and two security officers were injured.
He is also believed to be responsible for the 2018 murder of American tourist Patrick Braxton-Andrews, who was abducted from La Playita. His body was found a month later on a stretch of road between Urique and Batopilas.
Tributes for both Father Campos and Father Mora will be held on Saturday, June 25, in the state capital. Their bodies will then be transferred to Cerocahui for a night vigil the following day. They will be laid to rest in the atrium of the church they were murdered in.
The Attorney General's Office is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the capture of El Chueco.
English-language coverage:
Elena Reina, "Two priests and a tour guide killed, four tourists missing in Mexico," El País, 22 June 2022.
Julian Resendiz, "Mexican police find bodies of slain Jesuit priests, tour guide," Border Report, 22 June 2022.
María Verza, "2 priests killed in Mexico devoted decades to remote region," KSAT, 22 June 2022.
Jonah McKeown, "Two Jesuit priests killed in a church in Mexico," Catholic News Agency, 21 June 2022.
Spanish-language coverage:
José María Soberanes Díez, "El asesinato de los jesuitas y los derechos humanos," El Universal, 23 June 2022.
"Entrega Fiscalía Zona Occidente cuerpos de sacerdotes jesuitas y guía de turistas," El Heraldo de Juárez, 23 June 2022.
Araceli Hernández Zamora, "El padre provincial reconoció los cuerpos de los jesuitas: Javier Ávila," W Radio, 23 June 2022.
Mario Camarillo, "Hallan cuerpos de sacerdotes jesuitas y del guía de turistas asesinados en Chihuahua," La Hoy de Crónica, 22 June 2022.
Alejandra Sigala, "Prófugo de la justicia y homicidios en Urique: los crímenes de “El Chueco” que lo volvieron blanco de Javier Corral," Infobae, 22 June 2022.
Rubén Villalpando and Jesús Estrada, "Morita y Gallo dedicaron su vida al servicio de los rarámuris," La Jornada, 22 June 2022.
Hugo Valencia, "Comisión Permanente guarda minuto de silencio por sacerdotes asesinados en Chihuahua," Noticieros Televisa, 22 June 2022.
"Cerocahui, un pueblo entre el tren Chepe y el silencio profundo de la Sierra Tarahumara," Infobae, 22 June 2022.
Luciano Campos Garza, "Uno de los jesuitas asesinados en Chihuahua había celebrado 50 años de sacerdocio," Proceso, 22 June 2022.
Richard Holguín, "Mataron a guía de turistas junto a sacerdotes, hay cuatro desaparecidos más: Gobierno," El Heraldo de Chihuahua, 21 June 2022.
