Thousands of Indigenous people live under siege and in a state of constant vulnerability in the face of organized crime groups that operate in collusion with municipal and state authorities and federal security forces in the state of Chiapas. Yes, just as in Guerrero, Michoacán, or Chihuahua, to cite some documented examples. The figures on this humanitarian tragedy warrant urgent attention, but what we find instead is institutional denial that only exacerbates the crisis.
The Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba) has spent decades documenting forced displacement in Chiapas resulting from criminal violence perpetrated by organized crime groups operating in collusion with municipal and state authorities and federal security forces.
In Chiapas alone, there are 24,510 victims of forced displacement, whether permanent or intermittent. Frayba warns that the government’s response is insufficient and “pretends to assist the victims without effectively guaranteeing their rights, their protection, or the conditions necessary for a safe and dignified return.”
The human rights center denounces that the collusion between armed groups and authorities “allows the violence to continue and deepens the humanitarian crisis facing displaced communities.” One example suffices: the families originally from the Nueva Independencia ejido in Ángel Albino Corzo, who were displaced following the election of Mayor Manuel de Jesús Moreno Fernández. Testimonies indicate that “the municipal president is allegedly providing protection to a powerful political group, Los Robleros,” which is linked to organized crime.
According to Frayba, victims in the border municipalities of Chiapas remain in a state of forced displacement, without access to safe shelters, without humanitarian aid, and exposed to further attacks during their journey.
We can expect nothing from Governor Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar, who claims that forced displacement no longer exists in Chiapas and that 95 percent of displaced people have returned to their homes. Is this a blatant lie, ignorance, pretense, or complicity?
Original text by Gloria Muñoz Ramírez published at La Jornada on September 19th, 2026.
Photo: Facebook Noti Chiapas Selva
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.