2 women and boy shot dead at altar to folk saint cult “La Santa Muerte” in Mexico

A local leader of the Mexican folk saint cult “La Santa Muerte” was gunned down at an altar to the skeletal figure late Friday, authorities said.

Two other people were killed and eight injured in the attack in the city of Leon, in Guanajuato state, the authorities added.

The saint – whose name means roughly “Holy Death” – is often worshipped by convicts, drug addicts and criminals, along with other people who feel excluded or are experiencing difficulties in life.

The saint, who is not recognized by the Roman Catholic church, is usually depicted as a female skeleton, and is supposed to protect her followers from death.

But that didn’t work for “La Madrina Chayo,” a woman considered a leader of the cult in the north-central state of Guanajuato.

Prosecutors did not give her real name, in keeping with Mexican law, but the nickname “La Madrina Chayo” was used by a faith healer also known as “Chayito.”

She, another woman and a boy were shot dead Friday as they prepared the annual Santa Muerte celebration.

There was no immediate information on the condition of the eight people, including two children wounded in the shooting attack on the street corner altar.

Like Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday, the Santa Muerte is honored on Nov. 1 and 2.

Roman Catholic leaders in Mexico have condemned the deity’s connection to violence and the illicit drug trade.

Clad in a black nun’s robe and holding a scythe in one hand, Santa Muerte appeals to people seeking all manner of otherworldly help: from fending off wrongdoing and carrying out vengeance to stopping lovers from cheating and landing better jobs. Others seek her protection for their drug shipments and to ward off law enforcement.

While the cult may sound ominous, the annual celebrations honoring the Santa Muerte are friendly affairs, with people warmly greeting fellow worshippers and offering them small gifts.

Deadly pattern of violence in Guanajuato

For years, Guanajuato has had the highest number of homicides of any state in Mexico because of ongoing turf battles between rival drug cartels.

Last month, 12 bodies — all bearing signs of torture and left with messages by cartels — were found in Guanajuato. Officials 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 was dismembered.

The bodies were found less than 24 hours after gunmen attacked a residential center for people suffering from addictions in the same municipality, killing four.

In Guanajuato, two cartels, the Santa Rosa de Lima and the powerful Jalisco New Generation, are 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 mayoral candidate was shot dead in the street in Guanajuato just as she began campaigning.

Last December, 11 people were killed and another dozen were wounded in an attack on a pre-Christmas party in the state. Just days before that, the bodies of five university students were found stuffed in a vehicle on a dirt road Guanajuato.

The U.S. State Department urges Americans to reconsider traveling to Guanajuato. “Of particular concern is the high number of murders in the southern region of the state associated with cartel-related violence,” the department says in a travel advisory.