The governments of Mexico and Guatemala reinforced security on the borders of both countries, because in areas of Chiapas the clashes between members of the Jalisco New generation and Sinaloa cartels continue, which for three years have been fighting over territory and routes for drug trafficking and migrant trafficking.
Residents of the region reported that yesterday there were reports of confrontations between these criminal groups on a dirt road, near the communities of El Jocote and Selegua, in the municipality of Frontera Comalapa. At the time of this edition’s closing, there were still no reports of casualties on either side.
Official sources stated that members of the National Defense Secretariat and agents of the National Guard, as well as the State Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, arrived yesterday at the municipal center of Amatenango de la Frontera, from where dozens of families fled to Guatemala at the end of last week.
This and other areas of La Sierra and La Frontera in Chiapas have been under the control of organized crime groups in recent months, which frequently carry out roadblocks, forced recruitment, collection of protection money, burning vehicles, as well as murders and disappearances of people who refuse to join their ranks.
According to sources, the reinforcement of security on the Mexican side was carried out in several municipalities of Chiapas bordering Guatemala in order to try to protect the civilian population.
On the Guatemalan side, the deployment was carried out in the department of Huehuetenango, which borders Chiapas and to which belongs the municipality of Cuilco, where more than 500 Mexicans are sheltered.
Displacements Continue
Authorities in that district reported that several Mexicans fleeing violence arrived on Saturday.
Most of the refugees are in shelters located in Ampliación Nueva Reforma, Jocotitán and other communities, where they are being given humanitarian aid, but there are also people in the homes of families who have given them shelter, said a source who requested anonymity.
Cuilco, which is located 18 kilometers from Amatenango de la Frontera, has taken in people who fled their communities as a result of the violence, he said.
I spoke with one of the displaced and he told me that they were not given the opportunity to take things out, that he has two cars and he left them. They left with what they could. They were not told that they had to do so. In some localities they were given 24 hours to leave their town. They were not, they were simply shot at and they left as best they could, said the source.
He told me that the trip was tiring and exhausting because they had to walk through the mountains, since the roads were blocked. They first arrived at the municipality and from there to Ampliación Nueva Reforma, which is between an hour and a half and two hours away by four-wheel drive vehicle.
He said that Guatemalan immigration personnel offered the displaced people documents to legally remain in that country, and the authorities of Cuilco and Huehuetenango provided them with humanitarian aid.
He added that the refugees have also received support from other institutions, churches, merchants and some larger communities. Everyone is collaborating however they can, he concluded.
Original article from La Jornada, July 29, 2024.
Photos by Cuartoscuro and AFP.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.