Diocesan priest José Luis Sánchez Ruiz, who had been kidnapped on
Friday, November 11, was released yesterday with "obvious signs of
torture", according to a statement from the Diocese of San Andres Tuxtla
(Veracruz, Mexico) signed by His Exc. Mgr. Fidencio Lopez Plaza.In the statement, sent to Fides, the Bishop thanked the authorities for their interest and informs that the community awaits the conclusions of the prosecutor to clarify the facts.
Mgr. Lopez Plaza also thanks for the "heartfelt sympathy and prayers of all the faithful, as well as the Mexican Episcopal Conference, and in particular the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Veracruz".
According to the local press, Father Sánchez Ruiz, the parish priest of Los 12 Apóstoles Catemaco, in the days before the kidnapping had received threats, surely for his harsh criticism against corruption and crime in the town of Catemaco.
Citizens had more than once expressed the lack of security and the arrogance of organized crime.
Fides on several occasions reported that the Mexican states of Veracruz, Guerrero and Michoacán are the most violent regions even for priests.