The cult of Santa Muerte is becoming increasingly popular outside of Mexico

There is a religious figure that organized crime gangs in Mexico and Central America see as their patron and protector: Santa Muerte.

Seated on her throne or standing with her scythe, the female figure in the form of a skeleton is considered by her devotees to be cursed and kind, a giver of protection and the key in the passage from life to death.

Many associate her with organized crime because she is the object of devotion of drug traffickers in Mexico and South America and gang members in Central America, who have raised altars in honor of the deity asking for protection and grace.

A giant was recently discovered in El Salvador sanctuary dedicated to Santa Muerte during an operation inside a bar in the capital. In addition to finding possible victims of sexual exploitation, prosecutors also found two figures of the deity with a glass of alcohol next to them.

The same figures were found in a house in Guatemala City.. Authorities in that country were investigating several people suspected of extortion. Both encounters had something in common: the altars were found in places investigated for their links to organized crime.

“In El Salvador, the worship of Santa Muerte has been linked mainly to the 18th gang. These gang groups have evoked this mythological being as a form of protection, with the belief that this figure will free them from enemy attacks, bullets or death,” he explains to the Voice of America Marvin Reyes, who was a police officer for 20 years and is now the leader of a police movement.

El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have been territories dominated by the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs for years. They have controlled extortion and illicit trafficking. They have also disappeared and killed those who broke their laws.

According to Reyes, Santa Muerte is not only worshipped by these groups who make offerings of blood, death or initiation rites. A part of the civilian population also considers her indispensable in the transition from life to death.

“There are other people in the civilian population who see her as a figure who dominates the world of death, dangerous situations or luck,” adds the former police officer.

Santa Muerte is originally from Mexico, where she is also known as Our Lady of Holy Death or the White Girl. She represents death in the form of a skeleton and her devotees ask her for protection, healing, wealth and a safe passage to the afterlife.

In his hand he carries a white scale, and on his shoulder a scythe or axe. They come in various colors: white, black or with the seven powers that include colors such as red, violet and yellow.

The sellers of these statues point out that once the cults begin, it is impossible to leave until Santa Muerte decides otherwise. They also offer her prayers, candles, water, alcohol and food. Prices vary depending on the size, but range from $20 to $200.

But this cult has been rejected by a part of Christianity in Mexico.

At the end of April, a message from the Mexican Catholic Church was released describing the spread of a “culture of death” as “harmful.”

“We cannot ignore the worrying reality that our society faces with the implementation of a culture of death and violence through narco culture (…) violent images, distorted cults such as that of Santa Muerte and intimidation,” reads a message from the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM).

According to InSight Crime, a foundation specializing in organized crime and citizen security in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the last two decades, Santa Muerte has expanded significantly outside of Mexico reaching about 12 million followers.

The United States, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru are just some of the countries where the cult of Santa Muerte is practiced.

“It is possible that the violence that organized crime has brought to some parts of Latin America has also helped the expansion of Santa Muerte,” explains Mario Saiz of InSight Crime.

Santa Muerte is not the first or only deity associated with criminal culture: Santeria, practiced by criminal gangs in the Caribbean, and the worship of popular saints such as San Simón, a smoking and drinking Mayan deity who “gets people out of jail,” or San Judas Tadeo, who was also popular among Colombian cartels in the 1980s, are just a few examples.

“While devotion to Santa Muerte by Mexican drug traffickers is not a new phenomenon, the discovery of an altar in El Salvador highlights how this religion remains popular among criminal organizations in Latin America,” InSight Crime added.

El Salvador is in a exceptional regime for two and a half years, with which it seeks to eradicate gangs from the neighborhoods. More than 90,000 people have been arrested during the measure. Despite this, there are possible criminal gangs whose figure of devotion is Santa Muerte.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channelsYouTube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.