A Colombian pastor has reportedly been fatally beaten by members of a criminal gang with whom he was actively sharing the Gospel.
The tragic killing took place in the city of Cartagena, where Jesús Alberto Puerta Pérez refused to allow the gangsters to use his motorcycle. According to a report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Puerta Pérez denied their request to use his bike one day after learning they intended to use it to move illegal drugs and that they had used it to commit crimes in the past.
Sources familiar with the situation told CSW, a U.K.-based Christian advocacy group, that the gang members were planning to entrap the preacher by unwittingly linking him to a crime through the use of the motorcycle. When he refused to participate on Oct. 7, the gangsters purportedly beat him to death.
So far, authorities have made no arrests.
Puerta Pérez, a married father of three, used his motorcycle taxi to make money and was a member of La Antorcha Encendida Church, an independent Christian congregation. The minister and his wife — both missionaries — regularly shared the Gospel with homeless people and gang members in Cartagena, in the Bolivar department of Colombia.
The couple had previously established a church in María La Baja, about 43.5 miles south of Cartagena, in the Montes de María area. But in December of last year, they fled to Cartagena after violent threats tied to Puerta Pérez’s preaching forced them to move.
Puerta Pérez leaves behind a wife and three children, ages 5, 6, and 12, as well as his wife’s elderly parents, for whom they have been caring.
Anna Lee Stangl, director of advocacy for CSW, urged Colombian authorities to conduct a “thorough and transparent investigation” into the preacher’s murder and to hold the gang members responsible for their alleged actions.
“CSW expresses heartfelt condolences to the widow and loved ones of Jesús Alberto Puerta Pérez, and we assure them of our sincere prayers and solidarity in this time of grieving,” said Stangl.
Last week, Scot Bower, chief executive of CSW, met with Gustavo Andrés Gómez Gaona, a foreign affairs counselor at Colombia’s embassy in London, and handed him a petition with more than 1,600 signatures, asking the Colombian government to restore protections specifically for religious leaders. According to CSW, Colombia removed protected status for at-risk groups from clergy in 2023.
Open Doors, an organization monitoring the persecution of Christians worldwide, ranks Colombia as No. 66 on its list of the 100 most dangerous places for believers around the globe.
“Whilst Christians from all denominations can face opposition for their faith in Colombia, those from Baptist and Pentecostal churches are particularly vulnerable to persecution from criminal groups,” the organization states. “Those who convert to Christianity – especially gang members and people from an indigenous background – can be especially at risk.”
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