Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico, authorities return seized cameras to Presbyterian church without apology

Cameras seized during a security operation in Villahermosa, Tabasco, have been returned to the Presbyterian Church, but the church’s leaders had required a public apology for the removal, and none was given. The Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) returned the equipment on Thursday, June 18, to the New Jerusalem Church on Zaragoza Avenue, in the first painting of the capital.

The SSPC said that on May 31 state police and agents of the Inter-Agency Tactical Reaction Force (FIRT) Olmeca had carried out an operation called Halcón Ciego, in which they dismantled and secured 53 video surveillance cameras that the agency described as allegedly irregular and possibly usable for illegal activities. The seizure took place on Saturday, May 30, at several points in Villahermosa, including the New Jerusalem Church, located at the corner of Zaragoza Avenue and José María Morelos and Pavón.

The action drew protests from the Presbyterian community. In a letter dated June 1, the Grijalva-Usumacinta Presbytery of the Presbyterian National Church of Mexico asked authorities to clarify the events of May 30 and objected to the removal of private and community security systems. In a separate statement signed by four priests, including Juan Marcos Pérez Alonso, president of the presbytery, the church asked authorities to investigate both the truth of the accusations that the cameras had been used for illegal activities and the legality of FIRT Olmeca’s actions in dismantling security equipment on church property. The church asked that the claims be tested before being accepted, a concern for truth and fairness (Proverbs 18:17).

On June 3, representatives of the Presbyterian National Church of Mexico rejected any use of the devices for illegal purposes, responding to statements attributed to the SSPC. Carlos Alberto Castellanos Morales, the church’s legal adviser, described the assertions linking the temple to crime as inconsistent and troubling. Pastor Julián Hernández Moreno, president of the General Assembly of Mexico of the Presbyterian National Church, demanded a public apology from state security authorities, saying that being linked, directly or indirectly, to illegality was offensive.

Bishop Gerardo de Jesús Rojas López of Tabasco said at a press conference on June 7 that dialogue between the Presbyterian Church and the State Security Secretariat should resolve the question of the cameras. He noted that the devices only monitor the interior of the temples. “It is necessary to reach agreements in this regard in order to avoid negative situations,” he said.

On June 5, State Secretary José Ramiro López Obrador met with authorities of the New Jerusalem Church of Villahermosa, which belongs to the Presbyterian National Church of Mexico. According to an official communiqué, he stressed his commitment to unrestricted respect for freedom of worship. The communiqué also acknowledged that there was no information linking the Presbyterian National Church of Mexico to illegal activities, and it described the church as a legally constituted institution dedicated exclusively to spiritual, social and community work.

The SSPC did not issue any further statement beyond its May 31 bulletin. On June 18, the cameras that had been secured at the New Jerusalem Church were returned to the congregation.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)