 |
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | May 2007 
The Legend of Saint Malverde
 KOB.com
| | According to the legend, a Mexican Governor had Malverde executed. Today, he has morphed into something of a saint, especially in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the heart of Mexico’s drug trade where smugglers visit shrines to Malverde before sneaking their wares into the U.S. |
The Catholic Church has a lot of saints, but a patron saint of smuggling? The Catholic Church says “heavens no,” despite a growing faith in an outlaw saint who has been appearing accompanying dope smugglers with increasing frequency.
News accounts and movies have made familiar the violent culture of the drug trade. Recent reports of drug wars are being blamed for increasing violence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
But behind the ruthless, cash-hungry culture of smuggling, there is a bizarre side that local police are encountering more often.
Earlier this year, on Interstate 40 just outside of Albuquerque’s city limits, state police pulled over a blue car.
Inside, they found 30 pounds of crystal meth, and the smuggler had something else: a small token bearing the image of a man with jet black hair and a moustache.
Local drug agents say that bust is just one of many examples of drug busts involving similar images. The character’s name is Jesus Malverde.
It’s not known if he ever existed in real life, but one legend says Jesus Malverde was a Mexican bandit during the 1900s, a Robin Hood figure who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Smugglers pray to Malverde and hope his power will keep their drugs out of the hands of law enforcement.
According to the legend, a Mexican Governor had Malverde executed. Today, he has morphed into something of a saint, especially in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the heart of Mexico’s drug trade where smugglers visit shrines to Malverde before sneaking their wares into the U.S.
“If we encounter someone bearing anything to do with Jesus Malverde, we believe that they are a drug trafficker and we will go from that position, says Albuquerque Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Evelyn Kilgas.
State police see Malverde as a red flag too, as in the case where they arrested a man wearing a Malverde necklace for smuggling $125,000 in a gas tank.
There are enough Malverde believers in Albuquerque that local religious shops are offering Malverde icons, such as candles with prayers, necklaces, oils and statues.
At local music shops, there is music dedicated to the saint of drug smuggling. Lyrics tell stories of Malverde and accounts of smugglers who claim they’ve had visions of the narco saint as they cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
Santa Fe Archdiocese Chancellor Tim Martinez says Malverde is no saint.
“No, we don’t believe in drugs, drug abuse or anything like that, and certainly the violence that accompanies that act is not something within the realm of the church,” said Martinez.
Another so-called saint is beginning to find favor among drug smugglers and notice among police. State police say statues of Santa Muerte, or Saint Death, have been found among local smugglers. The Church doesn’t recognize that saint, either. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us