“There is no guarantee that the surviving migrants and the families of the deceased will receive justice and reparation for the damage, as has been demonstrated by the different massacres against this population and the cases where elements of the army are involved,” denounced human rights organizations, after the murder of six migrants at the hands of the military in Villa Comaltitlán, Chiapas, on October 1.
“This is not the first time that the policy of containment and militarization of migratory control ends the lives of the population in movement, under the argument of ‘suspicions’ or ‘repelling aggressions’, without proving that the people in the cars or vans attacked the military elements,” denounced the collectives and organizations in a communiqué, in which they condemned the violence perpetrated by the armed forces when they opened fire against a van in which 33 people of different nationalities were traveling in overcrowded conditions.
They reiterated that the death of the six migrants, in addition to the 12 people injured in the attack, is the result of the migration policy “without a human rights approach” that the Mexican State has opted for, “making use of military bodies, such as the National Guard, the Navy or the Army, even as a migration control apparatus, even when this goes against the normative provisions on migration and international human rights law.”
For their part, they denounced that it should have been the Executive Commission for Attention to Victims (CEAV), and not the National Institute of Migration (INM), the institution that received the 17 migrants who were unharmed in the attack, since they should be granted “urgent assistance measures, as well as rehabilitation, compensation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.”
“We will not stop demonstrating how a migratory policy of containment and the militarization of migratory revisions kill and leave everyone unprotected, perpetuate impunity and injustice,” assured the organizations, which insisted on the ‘danger’ in which the power of the armed forces puts the population.
Below is the complete communiqué:
October 3rd, 2024.
Militarization of migration kills
- Under the pretext of suspicion, 6 people are killed and 10 more are wounded.
Militarization has proven not to be the bridge to security that we all long for. Soldiers do not have the preparation for protection and public safety. Once again this was evidenced by the murder of 6 migrants and 10 more wounded by the Mexican Army on October 1st, on the highway between Villa Comaltitlán and Huixtla, Chiapas, when the military opened fire on a van in which 33 people of different nationalities were traveling, among them, Egyptian, Nepalese, Cuban, Indian, Pakistani and Arab -although President Claudia Sheinbaum indicated, during this morning’s press conference, different ones, so there is still no clarity on the matter.
This is not the first time that the policy of containment and militarization of immigration control has ended the lives of the population in mobility, under the argument of “suspicion” or “repelling aggressions”, without proving that the people in the cars or vans assaulted the military elements. As civil society we have insisted, since 2019, that militarizing migration is not the option, on the contrary, we have denounced how this has taken the lives of migrants.
Regarding the 2 military personnel who fired the shots, the Sedena reported that “they were separated from their duties and since it was an event where civilians were affected, the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic (FGR) was informed so that it can carry out the corresponding legal proceedings and determine (the) corresponding responsibilities; without prejudice that the Attorney General’s Office of Military Justice carries out the investigations with respect to military discipline.” However, there is no guarantee that the surviving migrants and the families of the deceased will receive justice and reparation for damages, as has been demonstrated by the different massacres against this population and the cases where members of the Army are involved.
Mexico has opted for the implementation of a migration policy without a human rights approach, making use of military bodies, such as the National Guard, the Navy or the Army, even as a migration control apparatus, even though this goes against the regulatory requirements on migration and international human rights law.
The militarized migration policy has deepened the risk contexts of people in mobility and forces them to travel through clandestine routes, making them more vulnerable to different types of human rights violations and crimes, such as forced disappearances, kidnappings, extortion, human smuggling and trafficking, corruption, as well as racial and ethnic discrimination, extreme weather conditions and accidents.
This action by military authorities is not new. In October 2021, elements of the National Guard (made up mainly of military personnel) murdered Cristóbal Cobreiro, a Cuban migrant, in Chiapas. The authorities rushed to provide the necessary safe-conducts for the witnesses to leave the country to prevent them from testifying. Although the perpetrators have been fully identified, none of them have been brought to justice. As a result of these events, the National Human Rights Commission issued Recommendation for Serious Violations 116VG/2023.
As a society, we must understand that the militarization that is taking root in our country places us all in danger, particularly those who, due to their social, economic or educational circumstances, are more vulnerable, as is the case of migrants.
The undersigned civil society organizations will not cease to demonstrate how an immigration policy of containment and the militarization of immigration inspections kill and leave everyone unprotected, perpetuating impunity and injustice.
Original COMMUNICATION from. Monitoring Collective – Southern Border:
We demand justice for the victims of military persecution in Villa Comaltitlán, Chiapas
October 2, 2024 Villa Comaltitlán, Chiapas, México
Last Tuesday night, October 1, 2024, a pickup truck carrying 33 migrants in need of international protection failed to stop at a military checkpoint and a convoy began a chase, during which military personnel fired at the vehicle, causing the truck to crash near the Saltillito ejido in the municipality of Villa Comaltitlán. So far, 6 people have died and 10 more have been injured, among them children.
Several hours after the accident, there is not enough clarity on the facts that caused these deaths. The information that is known is that 4 adult men, a girl and a young woman died, and at least ten people are reported injured in the hospital. The people are from Nepal, India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Cuba. Some images disseminated on social networks suggest that the people died from gunshot wounds.
The Secretary of National Defense (SEDENA), has issued a communiqué this afternoon, in which it refers to an account of the events that occurred, centered on the version of the military elements themselves. While recognizing the seriousness of the facts and the probable responsibility of the agents involved, we reiterate that this type of investigation must be centered on the direct testimony of the victims, in dignified conditions of total impartiality and security guarantees; likewise, the responsibility of the corresponding chain of command must be recognized, as well as the institutional and political responsibility of the factors and conditions that favor this type of events.
From the Southern Border Monitoring Collective, we reiterate, once again, that these events are neither accidental nor isolated, they are a consequence of the restrictive migration policies that the Mexican State continues to implement. In particular, they are a direct consequence of ordering the deployment of the military to contain migratory flows under a logic of persecution and not of protection for people in mobility, violating and dehumanizing people, putting their physical and emotional integrity and their lives at risk.
This containment strategy, centered on national security, exacerbates the security and persecution approach, rather than a human safety approach. In the context of the recent official transfer of the National Guard to SEDENA, we reiterate, as we have pointed out on multiple occasions, the extended risks to the lives and human rights of populations in conditions of vulnerability, such as migrants, refugees and those in need of international protection.
Mexican migration policies create a context of violence, precariousness and risk for thousands of people, causing serious human rights violations. They are forced to take risky, clandestine and increasingly costly routes, falling into trafficking and smuggling networks. In Chiapas, the advance of criminal groups continues, putting at risk migrants and people in need of international protection who transit through the territory, where they are exposed to abuse, extortion and death. The Mexican State has failed to address the situation of violence in the region, as well as its obligations to investigate and punish human rights violations and crimes that various public agents have committed, both in negligence and in collusion with these criminal groups.
One year ago, on October 1, 2023, another accident was reported in Pijijiapan, where 10 migrants who were being transported in a truck died. In 2021, another similar accident was reported in Tuxtla Gutierrez, where 55 people traveling in a cargo truck died. On October 31, 2021, a Cuban person died and two other people were injured, after a private vehicle carrying 13 migrants was shot at by elements of the GN.
These events demonstrate the State’s failure to guarantee the human rights and lives of migrants and those in need of international protection. In addition, it shows that the migration policy in Mexico has been carried out from wrong approaches and strategies, generating greater factors of violence and lack of protection, whose unfortunate consequences are experienced by migrant individuals and families.
WE DEMAND from the Mexican State:
- Implementation of Mexican laws and norms that guarantee migratory policies protective of human rights and eliminate actions of omission, discretionality, excessive use of force and corruption.
- That it conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the causes and responsibilities of what happened.
- Adequate and comprehensive medical attention should be provided to the injured, as well as psychosocial and legal support to the victims and their families.
- Respect for the right to identity and dignity of the deceased and to facilitate their identification and delivery to their families, as well as the transfer and burial of their remains, in coordination with the corresponding consular representations.
- That victims and their families should be fully compensated for the damage caused, including restitution, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, including their migratory regularization.
- That it guarantee the rights of the 17 people who were placed at the disposal of the INM by the SEDENA, as victims of serious crimes and human rights violations, which should prevail over their immigration status.
Our solidarity with the victims and their families.
We demand that the Mexican State ensure that these events do not go unpunished and are not repeated.
Enough of violence against people in migration!
Original texts published in Desinformémonos on October 4th, 2024.
Communiqué from the Southern Border Monitoring Collective Published in Chiapas Paralelo on October 2nd.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.