Monsignor Salvador Rangel a retired Roman Catholic bishop known for his efforts to broker peace between warring drug cartels in Mexico was discovered alive on Tuesday after being kidnapped over the weekend. The state of Morelos Attorney General’s Office confirmed that Rangel, who serves as a bishop emeritus, is currently receiving medical attention at a hospital in Cuernavaca.
Bishop Kidnapped by Narcos in Mexico, pls pray 🙏
The Bishop emeritus of the diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, Salvador Rangel Mendoza, was kidnapped since last Saturday when he left a home in the municipality of Jiutepec, Morelos, on his way to the state of Guerrero 🇲🇽
The… pic.twitter.com/u3waVUktxR
— Don Orca🇻🇦 (@CatholicOrca) April 30, 2024
Prosecutor Uriel Carmona provided the media with a picture showing Rangel receiving treatment in a hospital room and stated that the bishop had indeed been kidnapped. The retired bishop’s disappearance on Saturday occurred while he was working to mediate an agreement between Mexico’s notoriously dangerous cartels.
Prior to his discovery, the Mexican Council of Bishops had issued a statement declaring that Rangel was in poor health and asked that the esteemed leader be permitted to receive his medications. The council’s carefully worded request acknowledged the very real threat of violence posed by his captors.
Throughout his tenure, Rangel had described being in danger and receiving death threats presumably due to his involvement in attempting to bring peace to the region. Despite the risks, he reportedly succeeded in negotiating a truce between rival factions in the diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa in the southern state of Guerrero where cartels have been engaged in a turf war for years.
The identity of Rangel’s kidnappers remains unclear, and none of the infamous local gangs which include the Tlacos, the Ardillos and the Familia Michoacana have claimed responsibility for the abduction.
