Thirty-Three Christians in Mexico Captured and Tortured

06/28/2013 Mexico (CBN)- Thirty-three Mexican evangelicals are grateful to be alive after being captured and tortured by Catholic villagers in Chiapas, Mexico. Voice of the Martyrs Mexico reported the evangelicals were attempting to return to their homes near San Cristobal after three and a half years of forced exile.

Pastor Armando said he and others were hung by a rope and doused with gasoline. They barely escaped with their lives, with five having to be hospitalized. Village leaders also seized Pastor Esdras Alonso of the Eagles Wings Church. He's a long-time defender of freedom to worship in Chiapas.

The captives were released Wednesday after a state government commission paid a "fine" of 600,000 pesos ($49,000). Leftists and traditionalists have forced more than 35,000 evangelicals from their homes in Chiapas during the past 35 years(Source).