A Mexican woman, believed to be a witch with ties to a drug cartel, was murdered after she tried to snatch an 18-month-old baby from his parents’ arms, killing him and sacrificing him for the patron saint of drug cartels.
Before Maria Guadalupe RM, 33, tried to kidnap the child, she had told her cousin, who is also the child’s father, that she believed a deceased relative had been reincarnated as his son, the local newspaper reported North Digital.
On Sunday, she broke into her relatives’ home in Ciudad Juarez while her nephew was sleeping with his wife and son, and tried to take the child by force.
Pictured: Maria Guadalupe RM, 33, a woman who was beaten to death by a father who tried to stop the alleged witch from kidnapping his son in Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, Texas
The cousin, identified as Carlos Gabriel CR, 23, fought back with a baseball bat and killed her.
Two unknown men, who are still at large, were also in the house to assist in the kidnapping of his son, but were chased away by neighbors, who alerted police to what was happening.
Maria Guadalupe had previously asked her cousin to give up his son to her, stating that she planned to sacrifice the child to Santa Muerte, the patron saint of Mexican drug cartels.
Guadalupe was known to be a witch and to practice satanic worship at her home in Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas, Mexican media reported.
She also had ties to the notorious street gang Los Mexicles, the armed criminals of the Sinaloa drug cartel, formerly led by drug lord El Chapo Guzman, who is imprisoned in the US, Mexican authorities have confirmed.
They add that Maria Guadalupe sold drugs and participated in Santa Muerte rituals and sacrifices on behalf of the gangs.
Cartel members in both Mexico and the US are known to worship images of skeletal women in cloaks holding a globe and a sickle in their hands.
Apples, flowers, a bottle of tequila and cigarettes were left at the Fort Worth warehouse as offerings to Santa Muerte
This statue of Saint Death was seized by the DEA in 2011 from two women who were transporting more than 700 grams of methamphetamine between Arizona and Minnesota. It was painted gold to symbolize economic power, success and prosperity.
The criminal organizations believe that their saint, who has been condemned by the Catholic Church, will protect them from their violent rivals and keep them safe as they smuggle drugs and people across the border.
In the US, hiding places for people and drugs are becoming more common as they are brought into the country. Agents are increasingly finding alter egos of Santa Muerte, as recently happened in Fort Worth, Texas.
In Juarez, a pilgrimage site for Santa Muerte (Spanish for holy death) mysteriously appeared near the border in March. This year alone, 21 bodies have been dumped there.
It is unclear whether the boy who was nearly kidnapped was injured, but his father turned himself in to authorities this week.
He was released without charge after 48 hours because authorities determined he acted in self-defense.
The home in Juarez, Mexico, where the attempted kidnapping of the 18-month-old child took place on Sunday
The alleged witch died in her cousin’s house after he beat her with a baseball bat
His ‘witch’ aunt was also suspected in another case after a skeleton was found in her home in May.
The remains of a 22-year-old man were found on her property, next to a concrete slab with an image of Santa Muerte on it.
At the witch’s house, a local TV news crew found what appeared to be the skeletal remains of a dog