By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Ten Baptist families were unceremoniously expelled from the community of Tuxpan de Bolanos in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, last week for refusing to recant their faith.
According to International Christian Concern, the eviction was executed on Jan. 26 by local citizens who loaded 18 adults and 10 children unto pickup trucks and then drove them into the nearby mountains where they were abandoned.
The eviction was the latest incident in the systematic persecution of evangelical Christians in rural Mexico. ICC has estimated that there are 70 open cases of religious persecution against minority Christian communities in six Mexican states.
"ICC is disturbed to learn of another instance of religious minorities being expelled by local governments on the basis of their faith," said Nate Lance, ICC's Advocacy Manager. "It is equally disturbing that despite being notified of multiple cases of persecution throughout rural Mexico, the state and federal government refuse to protect their religious minorities or prosecute perpetrators. As a result, these families are now religious refugees in their own country...."