Drug Trafficking

The Latest

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Catholic newspaper takes Mexican president to task for joking about murders

Sep 8, 2023

By Martin Barillas

“He not only shows a lack of sensitivity but also perversion,” read an editorial in the newspaper of the Archdiocese... Read more

Bishop Enrique Martínez Ossola of Santiago del Estero in Argentina.

Bishop warns about ‘hard times’ Argentina is going through

Sep 7, 2023

By Julieta Villar

“Drugs kill and poison the family,” the prelate said, noting that “there is no effective response from the state” and... Read more

Father Antonio Coluccia, “anti-Mafia” priest in Rome.

Rome Diocese expresses solidarity with anti-Mafia priest following attempted assassination

Aug 31, 2023

By Ary Waldir Ramos Díaz

On Tuesday, the priest was participating in a march for law and order and against the Mafia when a man... Read more

Pope Francis at his general audience in St. Peter's Square on May 17, 2023.

Pope Francis condemns assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate

Aug 12, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The presidential candidate had been an outspoken critic of the violence caused by drug trafficking. Read more

Flag of Mexico.

Religious persecution takes its toll on Catholic faith in Mexico

Jun 3, 2023

By Ana Paula Morales

Recent episodes of violence against the Catholic Church once again bring to the fore the persecution of the faith in... Read more

Members of the National Police prepare before going out to patrol the streets of Duran, city neighbouring Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Nov. 5, 2022. Special police forces continued on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022 to transfer imprisoned criminal gang leaders who have unleashed terror in Guayaquil as part of the government's "open war" against drug trafficking.

Bishops urge conversion amid drug gang violence in Ecuador

Nov 7, 2022

By CNA Staff

Drug trafficking gangs in Ecuador have reacted to the government’s efforts to retake control of the prisons by launching a... Read more

Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega

Cardinal reveals he was detained by drug traffickers in Mexico

Jun 28, 2022

By Walter Sánchez Silva

Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega lamented the current climate of violence in Mexico at a June 26 press conference. Read more

Soldiers patrol in Culiacan on Oct. 18, 2019.

Mexican diocese prays for peace as capture, release of El Chapo's son sparks violence

Oct 18, 2019

Following hours of heavy fighting in a city in Northern Mexico as officials detained and then released the son of... Read more

Buenaventura, Colombia, January 2016.

Colombian bishop to bless entire city to counter violence

Jul 11, 2019

Bishop Rubén Darío Jaramillo Montoya of Buenaventura will perform blessings throughout his cathedral city Saturday, hoping to counter it's extreme... Read more

Cartel battle leaves church looted, bullet-ridden in western Mexico

Mar 30, 2019

A clash between drug trafficking cartels last week left a church pillaged and full of bullet holes in a village... Read more

Confiscated drugs and money in Argentina.

Parish of priest who denounced drug traffickers attacked in Argentina

Sep 26, 2018

Mary Our Queen parish and Paul VI school in Rosario, Argentina, were the target of an attack by criminals apparently... Read more

Colombia drug route battle leaves residents trapped in homes

Apr 26, 2018

Residents of the Catatumbo region of Colombia, which borders Venezuela, are trapped in their own homes due to an ongoing... Read more

Church in Brazil laments tragedy of gang-fueled prison riots

Jan 10, 2017

After nearly 100 inmates died in gang-related riots at prisons in northern Brazil through Jan. 8, Church officials in the... Read more

Body of third priest kidnapped in Mexico found

Sep 26, 2016

By Elise Harris

Less than a week after two Catholic priests in Mexico were found murdered after having been abducted from their parishes,... Read more

Pope Francis speaks to Mexican Bishops at Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City, Feb. 13, 2016.

How Pope Francis proposes to fight drug violence in Mexico

Feb 17, 2016

Speaking to laborers in the Mexican City of Juarez on Wednesday, Pope Francis laid out several key areas of focus... Read more

Joaquin Guzman, El Chapo.

Mexican bishop: 'El Chapo' blood money should be returned to community

Jan 14, 2016

Bishop Benjamin Castillo Plascencia of Celaya, Mexico praised the capture of the notorious drug lord, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as... Read more

'It's hard to think there was no complicity' – Mexican bishop on 'El Chapo' escape

Jul 15, 2015

Three Mexican bishops have spoken out in recent days about public sector corruption in their nation, highlighting the escape of... Read more

Indonesia draws international outcry for executing drug traffickers

May 4, 2015

The Australian bishops joined their voices to the international condemnation of the Indonesian government's execution of foreign drug traffickers last... Read more

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square during the Wednesday general audience on Nov. 5, 2014.

Vatican: Pope's 'Mexicanization' comment not intended to offend

Feb 25, 2015

By Elise Harris

The Vatican on Wednesday issued a statement clarifying a private comment made by Pope Francis to a friend warning that... Read more

An officer closes the gate of Kerobokan prison in Indonesia, where Myuran Sukuraman and Andrew Chan are jailed, Feb. 10, 2015.

Jail, not death: appropriate punishment according to Australia's bishops

Feb 12, 2015

With two of their nationals on Indonesia's death row over drug trafficking offenses, the Australian bishops are appealing to the... Read more