Mexico must comply with its international obligations
August 27, 2025
Experts from the United Nations (UN) call on the Mexican State to immediately release Manuel Sántiz Cruz, Agustín Pérez Domínguez, Juan Velasco Aguilar, Martín Pérez Domínguez, and Agustín Pérez Velasco. In its Opinion No. 21/2025 published in May 2025, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recognizes that the five defenders of the territory, indigenous Maya-Tseltal people from San Juan Cancuc (Chiapas), were arbitrarily detained. To date, they have spent more than three years behind bars for a crime they did not commit.
The UN Working Group recognizes that the arbitrary detention is characterized by each of the four aspects argued by the Frayba Human Rights Center: 1) there is no legal basis to justify the detention; 2) the detention results from the exercise of their human rights; 3) a biased trial led to the detention; 4) and that this detention is discriminatory.
In May 2022, the five defenders were arrested in San Juan Cancuc and San Cristóbal following the death of a municipal police officer in circumstances that remain unclear. As the UN Working Group points out, the Mexican State used various strategies against them, characteristic of the pattern of fabricating guilt in Chiapas. Of particular note is the creation of a drug possession charge to keep the defenders in prison while the prosecutor’s office prepared another arrest warrant for aggravated homicide, a crime for which they are currently serving a sentence of 18 years and 9 months.
This arrest warrant was issued before the prosecutor’s office had even requested it, which is evidence of the setup. The detainees were not shown the arrest warrant, nor were they informed of the reason for their detention. In addition, three of them were held incommunicado for 24 hours without anyone knowing their whereabouts. The Working Group considers that these actions constitute forced disappearance.
It was no coincidence that Manuel, Agustín, Juan, Martín, and Agustín were arrested. As the Working Group rightly points out, they are defenders of human rights and the environment, and this was the reason for their arrest. All of them have participated in the defense of their territory against so-called “development” projects such as the San Cristóbal de Las Casas-Palenque highway, and against the militarization of the region, together with the Pueblo Creyente (Believing People). Manuel Sántiz Cruz, in particular, has been a very visible figure due to his role as president of the Human Rights Committee of the parish of San Juan Cancuc.
The Working Group is convinced that the five were discriminated against because of their status as defenders, but also because of their membership of the Mayan-Tseltal indigenous people, as demonstrated by the failure to provide them with an interpreter despite the fact that Spanish is not their first language and is the language used in court. This discrimination and racism is a factor that supports the finding of arbitrary detention.
In Chiapas, there is a pattern of criminalization of indigenous defenders, particularly those who defend their territory. The aim is to generate fear, division, and ultimately demobilization in communities mainly affected by megaprojects and/or militarization. Criminalization primarily benefits the Mexican state, but also companies and criminal groups, facilitating their efforts to establish their businesses, both legal and illegal. Many social and political actors have warned of the risks of such projects, such as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), the National Indigenous Congress (CNI), and Rodrigo Aguilar Martínez, bishop of San Cristóbal de Las Casas.
The peoples continue to resist the San Cristóbal-Palenque “superhighway,” against which the 5 of Cancuc mobilized. To date, the affected communities maintain their peaceful resistance and their demand for prior, free, informed, and culturally appropriate consultation.
In the opinion of the Working Group, the Mexican State has the opportunity, and the obligation, to redress a grave injustice. According to the international commitments made by the country, the Working Group’s requests are binding. In other words, immediate release is not an option, but a legal obligation incumbent upon the Mexican authorities. In fact, there is a recent precedent in Chiapas, when in 2021 an opinion by UN experts led to the release of five indigenous men who had been arbitrarily detained.
Therefore, we urge the State to implement the Working Group’s requests without delay:
Immediately release Manuel Sántiz Cruz, Agustín Pérez Domínguez, Juan Velasco Aguilar, Martín Pérez Domínguez, and Agustín Pérez Velasco.
Implement a comprehensive reparation plan that is not limited to financial compensation, designed on the basis of dialogue with the direct and indirect victims.
Conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of the five human rights and land defenders.
We recognize that it was the struggle of the five prisoners and their families, as well as collectives and organizations in Mexico and around the world, that made it possible to highlight this grave injustice and bring it to the attention of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. This same struggle will lead to their release and the full implementation of Opinion 21/2025. We therefore call on local, national, and international civil society to join in the efforts to secure the release of Manuel, Agustín, Juan, Martín, and Agustín.
Signed
- ACAT Francia
- Frontline Defenders
- Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas
- OMCT
- IPRI
Original text by Frayba published on August 28th, 2025.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.