Community of the Lacandon Zone
Subcommunity of Frontera Corozal, Municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas
October 21, 2023.
To the National and International Community
To the Civil Society Non-Governmental Organizations
To the Media
Today, the 21st of October, 2023, the people of Frontera Corozal, Lacandon Zone, Municipality of Ocosingo Chiapas demonstrate to protest the lack of attention by the federal and state governments to the problematic situation that we are experiencing, as in the last 4 months there is a presence of criminal groups in the Lacandon Region that are carrying out acts of violence such as detention, torture, abduction, murder and cobro de piso (extorsion of businesses for permission to operate), and in the recent days they have burned vehicles and shot at campesinos.
The lack of attention from the federal government is not just now, but for the past four years, the community of Frontera Corozal has been soliciting security for the whole town. The result of our request was that they sent us a group of criminals who showed up at the municipal office, requesting entry in order to practice the extortion of businesses, kidnapping, and murder so that by the end of September, they began forcefully carrying out these illegal activities against the people of the community. Because of these violent acts, the community is defending itself with equally forceful actions, taking up arms to defend our physical well-being from the criminal groups.
Therefore, we once again SUBMIT OUR REQUEST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT that it urgently send sufficient troops of the security forces, like the NATIONAL GUARD, the ARMY (SEDENA) and NAVY to fulfill its role in protecting the populations and combat organized crime that is operating in San Javier, in particular against CABRERO SEGUNDO LÓPEZ, ALIAS “EL CABRA.”
To the general public, we request your support in spreading this information so that it reaches the ears of the President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
THE ORGANIZED COMMUNITY OF FRONTERA COROZAL
NOT ONE STEP BACKWARDS!
Statement from the People of Frontera Corozal on October 11th, 2023
TO THE FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS
TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
TO NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
As of Wednesday, October 11 of this year, the people of Frontera Corozal, municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas find themselves in constant protest against the insecurity that prevails in their community due to criminal groups that have kept the population in a state of distress, having violently entered homes to kidnap, disappear, torture and or murder people.
It is presumed that elements of the State Police of the state of Chiapas, assigned to the Lacandona zone with headquarters in Crucero San Javier have ties to organized crime.
It is worth noting that before the incursion of this criminal group, Frontera Corozal enjoyed social tranquility and peace, working in agriculture, cattle ranching and tourism, for which this criminal group came to destabilize the population with their violent actions.
Faced with this insecurity, the people of Corozal requested the intervention of the Secretary of the Interior so that national security forces such as the National Guard, the Mexican Army and the Navy could intervene to restore security. The lack of a timely response from the national security forces, such as the National Guard and the Mexican Army has resulted in the people rising up to forcefully demand the restoration of security with actions such as indefinite sit-ins, road patrols, internal and external vigilance of the community, all of which are actions that should be carried out by the National Guard.
It should be noted that only after the community itself initiated the movement for its own security did the armed forces and the National Guard belatedly make their presence known, with few personnel and having so far failed to guarantee the security of the community.
Due to the lack of forceful action to combat the criminal group, it is feared that the situation could get out of control and we could be involved in a greater destabilization or social conflict.
We take this opportunity to deny the assertion made by the President of the Republic that the people of Frontera Corozal have detained the National Guard and the Navy, something that is completely untrue, as there is no reason for them to have been detained.
For the above reasons, we demand the following:
1. Immediate action by the federal government and federal security forces to intervene to prevent criminal groups from carrying out assassinations, disappearances and kidnappings.
2. Permanent and definitive presence of the National Guard in the community of Frontera Corozal, so that they carry out actions to combat the criminal groups that operate within the Lacandon zone, particularly in the community of Lacanjá Chansayab and Crucero San Javier.
Frontera Corozal, municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas; October 16, 2023.
ATTENTIVELY
THE PEOPLE OF FRONTERA COROZAL