The bishop spoke as Mexico confronted the horror of another mass slaying in Tamaulipas, where Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel have fought over lucrative drug-smuggling routes and carried out crimes such as extortion and the kidnapping of undocumented migrants with impunity.
Tamaulipas state officials report having pulled at least 122 bodies from mass graves in the municipality of San Fernando, which is part of the diocese of Matamoros and approximately 120 km south of the Texas border at Brownsville.
The federal attorney general's office and military said the victims were killed after cartel gunmen boarded buses stopped at illegal checkpoints and removed male passengers. In an April 11 statement, the Defense Secretariat said the victims were abducted between March 24 and March 29.
The U.S. Consulate in Matamoros said it received three reports of buses being boarded by gunmen and one report of a U.S. citizen being abducted. The citizen's fate is unknown.
Mexican media reported the families of missing bus passengers converged on Matamoros in search of information. The government said at least 60 residents travelling north — possibly to the United States as migrants — from the central state of Guanajuato could be among the missing.
Armendariz celebrated Mass April 13 outside the state attorney general's office in Matamoros with families from five states, media reported. The bishop previously announced plans for a silent march for peace on Good Friday in Matamoros and said the annual May religious festivities in San Fernando would proceed as planned.
Last August, 72 Central and South American migrants were massacred on a ranch in San Fernando after being kidnapped. Investigators blame Los Zetas for both of the mass slayings. Seventeen suspects have been detained for the most recent murders.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon warned that more victims were likely to be found. He told a business gathering April 12 that a 19-year-old suspect admitted to killing more than 200 people.
Armendariz blamed "social deterioration" and the drug trade for the violence in Tamaulipas, which he says is now beyond police and military control.
"The situation has exceeded the judicial authorities, but we continue trusting the government strategies for recovering peace and security in our municipalities and on the highways," he said.
Mexican bishop says priest abandoned parish after threats
By David Agren, Catholic News Service
MEXICO CITY - A Mexican bishop said at least one priest has abandoned his parish in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, where the bodies of at least 122 abducted and murdered bus passengers have been pulled from mass graves within the first half of April.
Matamoros Bishop Faustino Armendariz Jimenez told reporters April 13 that at least one priest from a municipality near where the mass graves were discovered had fled after being threatened and subjected to harassment by presumed members of organized crime. He added that other priests have encountered difficulties travelling in the state, which is plagued by highway checkpoints manned by organized criminal groups such as Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.
"We've had (incidents) at the armed checkpoints," Armendariz said in comments published by the newspaper El Universal. "Thanks to God, we're still here. Fortunately, nothing has happened, but we travel with fear."
Matamoros Bishop Faustino Armendariz Jimenez told reporters April 13 that at least one priest from a municipality near where the mass graves were discovered had fled after being threatened and subjected to harassment by presumed members of organized crime. He added that other priests have encountered difficulties travelling in the state, which is plagued by highway checkpoints manned by organized criminal groups such as Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.
"We've had (incidents) at the armed checkpoints," Armendariz said in comments published by the newspaper El Universal. "Thanks to God, we're still here. Fortunately, nothing has happened, but we travel with fear."
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