Frayba calls on international and national solidarity to sign the urgent petition.
Sign now to demand an end to armed and criminal violence against Nicolás Ruíz and its surrounding areas!
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. The Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba) called on federal and state authorities to conduct “an effective investigation into the attack” that took place on April 24 in the municipality of Nicolás Ruiz, where members of an armed civilian group murdered José Alfredo Jiménez Paredes and Luis Ángel Gómez Ramírez.
In an “urgent appeal,” it demanded that “the necessary precautionary and protective measures be granted to ensure the search for and safe return of Ángel Jiménez López, who has been missing and whose whereabouts are unknown” since the Friday the attack occurred.
“The victims of this attack report that on April 24, 2026, a group of heavily armed individuals in pickup trucks entered the village of Nicolás Ruíz, opened fire on the villagers,” and killed the two villagers mentioned, in addition to wounding Romero López Pérez and Raquel López Díaz, he added.
He explained that “the attack lasted about an hour, but reports continue to come in of bodies of non-locals lying on the roads surrounding the town, as well as shootings in nearby communities and threats of further raids.”
The organization noted that “by the evening of April 25, there were strong rumors and threats that the armed group would return to the town of Nicolás Ruíz in convoys of trucks carrying armed individuals, so tension and a state of alert continue in the community.”
The organization noted that “by the evening of April 25, there were strong rumors and threats that the armed group would return to the town of Nicolás Ruíz in convoys of pickup trucks carrying armed individuals, so tension and a state of alert continue in the community.”
It stated that “there remains a well-founded fear that the armed group will strike again, which is why authorities have declared a ‘maximum alert’” in the municipality located in the state’s central region.
Frayba noted that “in early 2025, the town of Nicolás Ruíz and several neighboring communities organized to protect their territory; they established community watch groups and patrols to prevent criminal activity from spreading through their areas, given the failure of state and federal authorities to curb the violent actions of organized crime in Chiapas.”
In response to Friday afternoon’s armed attack, the organization demanded “that timely medical care be guaranteed and the lives of the wounded, Romeo López Pérez and Raquel López Díaz, be protected, preventing the situation from becoming one that is difficult to remedy, for which reason we request your urgent intervention; to guarantee the safety, security, and lives of the municipality of Nicolás Ruíz and the surrounding communities in the face of threats, creating conditions of peace for women, children, and the elderly.”
Original article by Elio Henríquez published in La Jornada on April 26th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.