Mexican authorities arrest the suspected murderer of a well-known priest who was shot dead immediately after church service

Mexican authorities have arrested the suspected killer of a Catholic priest and prominent human rights defender whose killing sparked international condemnation, officials announced Tuesday.

Father Marcelo Perez, 51, was shot on Sunday in the southern state of Chiapas, which was shaken escalating gang violence.

The Chiapas prosecutor’s office identified the alleged “material author” of the crime as Edgar “N”, following the usual practice of not giving full names.

It said it used surveillance camera footage, witness statements and other clues to identify the suspect.

Perez’s commitment to human rights has been recognized by international organizations.

The Mexican office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the murder of the indigenous priest and called for a “full” investigation.

Rodrigo Aguilar Martinez, bishop of the southern city of San Cristobal de las Casas, called for “decisive measures to restore peace in the country and especially in Chiapas.”

Prosecutors said Rev. Pérez was shot by two gunmen as he sat in his van shortly after finishing mass.

“Father Marcelo was leaving the parish after celebrating Mass and was on his way to Guadalupe Church when two people aboard a motorcycle opened fire,” the office said.

He had received threats after speaking out against drug trafficking and the violence associated with it in Chiapas, where a cartel war is raging.

Hundreds of mourners attended a funeral for Perez in his hometown on Tuesday, singing “Long live Father Marcelo, priest of the poor!”

Mexico has seen more than 450,000 murders since a controversial military anti-drug operation began in 2006, according to official figures.

In 2022, two Jesuit priests were killed in a church in a remote mountain community in northern Mexico. In 2016 Three priests were killed in just one week in Mexico.