A Mexican Catholic priest was killed on Sunday in the southern state of Chiapas after officiating a mass, his religious order and authorities said, marking the latest death in a recent wave of violence in the area.

Catholic priest Marcelo Perez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers in southern Mexico, was killed on Sunday. The prosecutors' office in the city of San Cristobal de las Casas, in the state of Chiapas, said the religious leader was shot dead by two gunmen when he was in his van.

Gunmen in Mexico have shot dead a Catholic priest who was an outspoken advocate for indigenous rights and who had condemned the violence plaguing his community. Father Marcelo Pérez was killed after celebrating Mass in the southern state of Chiapas on Sunday, the prosecutor's office said.

Dramatic scenes unfolded after a mass in Mexico, where drug cartels murdered Father Marcelo Perez. The Jesuit was known for combating violence and drug addiction. This brutal crime was condemned by the country's president,

Hundreds of people have turned out for the burial of Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers who was killed in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas.

Rev. Marcelo Pérez was shot dead by two gunmen when he was in his van, just after he had finished celebrating Mass, the state prosecutors' office said.

Hundreds of people have turned out to mourn Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers who was killed in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas

Mexican authorities have arrested the alleged murderer of a Catholic priest and prominent human rights defender whose killing triggered international condemnation, officials announced Tuesday.The Mexican office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced the Indigenous priest's murder and called for an "exhaustive" investigation.