Catholic priest kidnapped in Guerrero found murdered

Guadalajara -
A Roman Catholic priest kidnapped late Sunday evening in the Mexican state of Guerrero has been found dead near Ciudad Altamirano, authorities there have reported.

Gregorio López Gorrostieta, 39, was seized Dec. 21 by an armed commando team after teaching a class at a local seminary. No ransom for his release was ever demanded.

Fr. López's body bore evidence of strangulation and a single gunshot wound to the head, according to state prosecutors. He was at least the third Catholic priest kidnapped and executed in Guerrero in 2014.

Almost 77% of the violent state's counties are under the control of competing drug cartels, crime gangs and warring guerrilla forces, who call themselves "people's revolutionary armies." Control of Guerrero hotly disputed by six major drug cartels, and many local gangs.

Guerrero is one of Mexico's two most violent jurisdictions, despite the fact that Federal Police and Gendarmes have flooded large parts of it, especially in the tourist resort of Acapulco.

Nov. 14 - Remains of Ugandan priest, missing since May, found in one of Guerrero's many organized crime burial sites
Dec. 31, 2013 - Violence against Catholic clergy reported in border state of Tamaulipas
Dec. 7, 2011 - Mexican archbishop: "Our priests are living side by side with drug traffickers"

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