A local leader of the popular Mexican cult “La Santa Muerte” was shot dead Friday night in front of an altar dedicated to the skeletal figure, authorities said.
Two other people were killed and eight injured in the attack in the city of León, State of Guanajuatoadded the authorities.
The saint – whose name roughly means “Holy Death” – is often revered by convicts, drug addicts and criminals, as well as others who feel excluded or experiencing difficulties in life.
The saint, who is not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, is usually depicted as a female skeleton and is believed to protect her followers from death.
But that didn’t work for “La Madrina Chayo,” a woman considered a cult leader in the north-central state of Guanajuato.
Prosecutors did not give her real name, in accordance with Mexican law, but the nickname “La Madrina Chayo” was used by a healer also known as “Chayito.”
She, another woman and a boy were shot dead Friday while preparing for the annual Santa Muerte celebration.
No information was immediately available on the condition of the eight people, including two children, injured in the shooting at the street corner altar.
Like Day of the Dead in Mexico, Santa Muerte is honored on November 1st and 2nd.
Mexico’s Catholic leaders have condemned the deity’s link to violence and the illicit drug trade.
Fernando Llano / AP
Dressed in a black nun’s robe and holding a scythe in one hand, Santa Muerte appeals to people who seek all kinds of otherworldly help: to fend off wrongdoing and take revenge, to stop lovers from cheating and get better jobs. Others seek his protection for their drug shipments and to fend off law enforcement.
Although the cult may seem ominous, the annual celebrations honoring Santa Muerte are friendly affairs, with people greeting fellow worshipers warmly and offering them small gifts.
Deadly violence in Guanajuato
For years, Guanajuato has had the highest number of homicides of any state in Mexico due to ongoing internecine battles between rival drug cartels.
Last month, 12 bodies – all bearing signs of torture and carrying messages from the cartels – were found in Guanajuato. Authorities said the victims – three women and nine men – were found on roads, bridges and avenues, their bodies bearing gunshot wounds and signs of torture, while one of them had been dismembered.
The bodies were found less than 24 hours later armed men attacked a residential center for drug addicts in the same municipality, causing four deaths.
In Guanajuato, two cartels, the Saint Rose of Lima and the powerful Jalisco new generationare currently at war.
Police, politicians and civilians have all been targeted in Guanajuato. In June, a baby and a toddler were among six members of the same family murdered in Guanajuato. In April, a candidate for mayor was shot in the street in Guanajuato just as she was beginning her campaign.
Last December, 11 people were killed and a dozen others were injured in an attack on a pre-Christmas party in the state. Just a few days before that, the body of five university students were found stuffed into a vehicle on a dirt road in Guanajuato.
The U.S. State Department is urging Americans to reconsider traveling to Guanajuato. “The high number of murders linked to cartel violence in the southern region of the state is particularly concerning,” the department said in a travel advisory.