This report documents the human rights situation in the Sierra-Frontera region of Chiapas during the period from December 2024 to December 2025, which coincided with the first year of the state administration led by Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar and the implementation of a new security strategy publicly presented as a peace-building process.
The investigation, conducted by the Border Region Working Group (GTRF), builds on the report *Siege on Daily Life, Terror for Territorial Control, and Serious Human Rights Violations*, published in January 2024. Drawing on testimonies from residents of the region, interviews with experts, official information, and documentation from human rights organizations, this report analyzes three closely linked phenomena: forced disappearances, forced internal displacement, and the impacts of the security strategy implemented by the State.
The findings reveal a more complex situation than that described by narratives that portray Chiapas as a fully pacified territory. During 2025, there was a reduction in some of the most visible manifestations of violence, particularly open armed clashes, roadblocks, and checkpoints set up by criminal groups. However, the evidence gathered indicates that this partial stabilization has not been accompanied by a corresponding transformation of the conditions that gave rise to the crisis.
Forced disappearances and internal forced displacement continue to affect the population of the Sierra-Frontera Region. At the same time, mechanisms of territorial control, dynamics of fear and silencing, restrictions on the exercise of rights, and profound obstacles to access to truth, justice, and reparations persist. The reduction in visible violence has not necessarily translated into an effective restoration of conditions of security, freedom, and dignity for broad sectors of the population.
Consequently, the main finding of this research is that bringing peace to the Sierra-Frontera Region remains an unfinished task. The available evidence calls for a nuanced interpretation of official security indicators and an analysis of the situation from a broader perspective, focused on the experiences of communities, the enforcement of human rights, and the State’s capacity to guarantee sustainable conditions for peace.
Forced Disappearances: The Continuation of Selective Violence
Forced disappearances continued to be one of the most serious human rights violations documented in the Sierra-Frontera Region during the period under review. Far from being isolated incidents, the reported cases reveal persistent patterns of violence linked to territorial control exercised by organized crime groups and to disputes over control of communities, routes, and economic activities.
The information gathered indicates that forced disappearance continues to function as a mechanism of terror, punishment, and social control. The victims of forced disappearance are not selected at random. Testimonies and documented cases show that these practices continue to be used to discipline populations considered sympathetic to rival groups, punish community leaders, facilitate processes of dispossession, or consolidate control over specific territories. Although some methods have evolved since the most intense years of the conflict, the logic behind them remains in effect.
Official records show that the Sierra-Frontera Region accounted for 10.58% of the disappearances recorded in Chiapas during the period analyzed. However, the actual magnitude of the phenomenon likely exceeds the available figures. Fear of reprisals, distrust of institutions, and the perception of impunity continue to limit reporting and contribute to the underreporting of cases.
The documentation also highlights the close link between disappearances, forced recruitment, and the discovery of clandestine graves in the region. At the same time, the families interviewed describe significant obstacles to accessing truth and justice, including deficiencies in institutional coordination, difficulties in obtaining information, a lack of protection during search processes, and experiences of revictimization in their dealings with the authorities.
Despite these adverse conditions, numerous families continue to pursue search and reporting efforts. In many cases, they have simultaneously turned to institutional mechanisms and their own strategies for raising public awareness in an attempt to overcome the lack of effective responses. Their persistence is an expression of resistance in the face of contexts marked by fear, impunity, and uncertainty.
Disappearance does not affect only those who are deprived of their liberty. Its consequences extend to entire families and communities, deepening collective fear, weakening community ties, and having varying impacts on children, adolescents, women, older adults, and people in situations of mobility. In this regard, forced disappearance remains one of the most profound manifestations of the humanitarian and human rights crisis affecting the Sierra-Frontera Region.
Internal Forced Displacement: Precarious Returns and the Persistence of the Causes of Expulsion
Internal forced displacement continues to be one of the main consequences of the violence affecting the Sierra-Frontera region of Chiapas. Although numerous families returned to their communities of origin during the period analyzed, the documentation gathered shows that these returns frequently occurred in contexts characterized by the continued presence of armed actors, the absence of effective security guarantees, and the persistence of the conditions that originally caused the displacement.
The report’s findings challenge the notion that return necessarily represents a lasting solution. On the contrary, in several cases, patterns of intermittent displacement were identified, in which families return to their communities only to later face new risks of violence, threats, or displacement. In this context, return appears more as a survival strategy than as an indication of an effective restoration of conditions of safety and protection.
The research confirms that the main cause of displacement continues to be violence associated with armed groups linked to illicit economies that are vying for or exercising control over territory. Threats, extortion, forced recruitment, restrictions on mobility, and various forms of coercion continue to affect the civilian population, even in areas where open hostilities have decreased.
Compounding this is an inadequate institutional response. Although Chiapas has had a specific legal framework addressing internal forced displacement for more than a decade, it remains underimplemented. The absence of effective mechanisms for identification, registration, protection, and reparations has limited the State’s capacity to respond to a crisis that persists to this day. The actions undertaken during the period under review focused primarily on humanitarian assistance measures of limited scope, without comprehensively addressing the structural causes of the phenomenon.
The consequences of displacement go beyond the material loss of homes, land, or livelihoods. The testimonies document profound processes of community fragmentation, the deterioration of local economies, psychosocial impacts, and the weakening of social ties. In many cases, fear continues to shape the decisions of displaced families and limit their ability to rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.
In this regard, forced displacement cannot be understood solely as an episode associated with the most intense outbreaks of violence in recent years. The findings of this report show that it remains an ongoing reality, closely linked to the continued territorial control exercised by armed groups, the limited institutional capacity to guarantee effective protection, and the absence of lasting solutions for those affected.
The Pending Peace: The Limits of the Security Strategy
During the first year of the current state administration, the security strategy implemented in Chiapas brought about noticeable changes in the Sierra-Frontera Region. The reduction in open armed clashes, roadblocks, and checkpoints set up by criminal groups was consistently acknowledged by the individuals interviewed for this study. Compared to the most intense periods of violence documented in previous years, numerous residents described a decline in the incidents that had profoundly disrupted daily life in their communities.
These changes occurred within the framework of a security strategy characterized by the strengthening of the state’s operational capabilities through the deployment of the Pakal Immediate Reaction Force (FRIP), the expansion of institutional powers in the areas of security and intelligence, the incorporation of new surveillance technologies and military-grade equipment—including drones, armed aircraft, armored vehicles, and monitoring systems—and the construction of a public narrative centered on the restoration of order, pacification, and “Zero Impunity.”
However, the documentation we gathered suggests that these changes are not sufficient to conclude that the region is undergoing a consolidated process of pacification. The research identifies a significant difference between the reduction in visible violence and the transformation of the conditions that made the spread of violence and territorial control in the region possible.
The testimonies collected show that the decline in clashes coexisted with the persistence of mechanisms of territorial control exercised by organized crime groups. Several interviewees noted that forms of surveillance over the population, restrictions on mobility, regulation of economic activities, and patterns of intimidation that shape daily life continue to exist. As one interviewee in Chicomuselo summarized: “The violence has decreased a little, but we know and feel that there is no true peace.”
The research also documents high levels of distrust toward security and justice institutions. Although the state’s presence has visibly increased in the region, many of the people interviewed do not perceive corresponding progress in solving crimes, punishing those responsible, protecting victims, or dismantling the criminal structures operating in the territory. Added to this are concerns regarding potential abuses committed during security operations, as well as the lack of sufficient information on the oversight and accountability mechanisms associated with the use of surveillance and control technologies.
One of the report’s most significant findings is the persistence of fear as a defining element of social life. Self-censorship, silencing, and changes to community practices continue to be present in numerous areas, even in contexts where overt violence has decreased. This situation suggests that the stabilization observed during 2025 has not been accompanied by a corresponding recovery in the conditions of freedom, trust, and the exercise of rights that characterize sustainable peace.
Summary of Recommendations
The findings of this report show that institutional responses will be insufficient as long as the reduction in visible violence is not accompanied by equivalent progress in the areas of truth, justice, protection, reparations, and the effective guarantee of rights.
With regard to the disappearance of persons, it is a priority to create safe conditions for reporting and searching, strengthen investigative capacities and coordination among institutions, guarantee the protection of families, and make progress in identifying human remains found in the region. Furthermore, it is essential to adopt differentiated approaches that address the specific needs of children and adolescents, women, indigenous peoples, displaced persons, and people on the move.
With regard to internal forced displacement, the State must fully recognize the magnitude and persistence of the phenomenon, effectively implement the existing regulatory framework, and develop comprehensive public policies aimed at protection, reparations, and the creation of durable solutions. This involves not only guaranteeing humanitarian assistance but also ensuring conditions of security, access to rights, and the restoration of livelihoods for those affected.
Finally, the report’s findings highlight the need to complement security measures with actions aimed at strengthening access to justice, effectively dismantling criminal structures, and protecting human rights. This includes strengthening investigative capacities, guaranteeing accountability mechanisms for the actions of security forces, and ensuring that the use of surveillance and control technologies is subject to oversight, transparency, and adequate safeguards for the protection of fundamental rights—specifically, the functioning of the rule of law, which entails the proper operation of government institutions, a function that is currently failing— a situation that is due to civil society, which risks its life and safety to report these crimes linked to organized crime.
Building sustainable peace in the Sierra-Frontera Region requires going beyond merely containing visible violence. It means addressing the structural causes that have allowed violence to spread, ensuring truth, justice, and reparations for victims, and centering the protection of communities and the full exercise of their rights.
Original report published by Grupo de Trabajo Región Frontera in July of 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.