The Other Face
Interoceanic Corridor
“When the military detained us, we were beaten and treated as if we were dangerous even though we were women, more like criminals than anything else. But no, we have never killed anyone. What we did do was fight for our rights, for our land, and that is why they want to silence us, they want to intimidate us,” says Elizabeth Martínez, an Ayuujk woman from the community of Mogoñé Viejo, in San Juan Guichicovi, Oaxaca.
Accompanied by six other women and one man, all Ayuujk (also known as Mixes), the young woman recounts how their emotional and physical lives have changed since April 28, 2023, the day they were detained, assaulted, and imprisoned for 48 hours by members of the Navy, accused of blocking the interoceanic railroad tracks that were being rehabilitated for the circulation of Line Z, which runs from the port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific to the port of Coatzacoalcos on the Atlantic.
The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) is a mega-project that began construction under the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with the aim of connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Its design includes the modernization and rehabilitation of ports, such as Salina Cruz in Oaxaca, and railways and highways to facilitate international trade in the southeastern region of the country, as an alternative to the Panama Canal.
“We were not consulted about this project; no one told us that the railroad was going to pass through our territory. What we demanded was that our space, where we have always lived, be respected, but now, because of this project, they want to kick us out of our territory and, as if that weren’t enough, they are intimidating us with arrest warrants so that we will give in,” Elizabeth laments.
The violence and gradual increase in militarization, say those interviewed, “worries us.” And with good reason, they add, as there are 24 people from the communities of Mogoñé Viejo, in San Juan Guichicovi, and Rincón Viejo, in Matías Romero, who have arrest warrants for trespassing, issued by representatives of the CIIT and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railway Project (FIT).
This report travels through communities in the Isthmus, where the stories of Ayuujk women and men are repeated, as are those of the Binnizá population. It is the other side of the megaproject promoted since 2018, the voice of those who are being affected by militarization, criminalization, and threats that the authorities do not report, but that they do narrate: “excessive and militarized violence due to the works of this flagship megaproject of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.”
MILITARIZATION AND CRIMINALIZATION
“I remember that during his campaign, Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the army would return to its barracks, but things got worse for us. Now our entire territory is militarized. There are Navy patrols on the train tracks and in the streets,” denounces Juanita Ramírez Villegas, an Ayuujk defender of the territory and member of the Union of Indigenous Communities of the Northern Zone of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Ucizoni).
In March 2023, a month before the residents of Mogoñé Viejo were attacked and imprisoned, then-President López Obrador issued a decree, endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies, granting legal status to the Secretary of the Navy to oversee and operate one of its flagship projects, the Interoceanic Corridor, so that the institution could implement a multimodal logistics platform that integrates the provision of services by the administrations of the national port system of Coatzacoalcos, Salina Cruz, Dos Bocas, and Puerto Chiapas.
Ramírez Villegas emphasizes that, with this endorsement, the militarization of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec began, and with it, attacks on a population that “demands respect for the territory and self-determination.”
In June 2025, a Navy communiqué entitled “The Interoceanic Corridor: a new bridge for global trade and a real opportunity for the population of southeastern Mexico” stated that “the Interoceanic Corridor is supervised by 2,400 personnel deployed on trains, in ports, and in industrial zones, providing confidence to investors and peace of mind to families.”
Juana wonders, “What happened to the presidential promise made six years ago, when López Obrador visited the Isthmus boasting that progress would come with this megaproject? Perhaps it was for a few, because all we got was militarization, violence, and the dispossession of our territory.”
But that’s not all. The defender emphasizes that they have sought dialogue with the authorities, but even the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) refused to hear the appeal. At the same time, the Oaxaca Ministry of the Interior (SEGO) refuses to engage in dialogue.
Puente Madera is located 83.4 kilometers from Rincón Viejo and Mogoñé Viejo. It is a municipality with a population of around 800 people, who are also fighting for their land. Here, the women make corn tortillas in a comixcal oven at high temperatures, and the men plant corn, sweet potatoes, marigolds, and other crops.
David Salazar lives in this Binnizá village. He is a born defender who fought for El Pitayal, a natural space where community life flows for everyone, and where there are also plans to build one of the development hubs that form part of the Interoceanic Corridor.
David says he does not fully understand why this piece of land known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is so coveted by foreign companies, liberal governments, and, recently, organized crime. Sitting under a leafy tamarind tree, where he spends his mornings and afternoons reviewing documents or planning the corn harvest for food security, David recounts how he went from being a community defender to being considered a criminal.
“They told me straight out: ‘either you give up or you know what’s going to happen to you,’ and I thought they were going to kill me,” says the Binnizá defender.
He takes a breath and explains that in 2021, the community learned that one of ten Industrial Development Hubs was going to be built in San Blas Atempa. Along with the Isthmus Railway Line Z, Line K, and the breakwater in Salina Cruz, this hub forms part of the Interoceanic Corridor.
“What we did was gather all the information through assemblies, and then we realized that they wanted 331 hectares of our El Pitayal forest. We discovered that in order to take over these lands, there had been falsification of community assemblies with irregularities in the minutes, an increase in the register with people who had already died, and even alleged owners of our communal lands,” he explains.
For David and hundreds of other farmers, El Pitayal forest means life. “There are deer, armadillos, iguanas, so we decided to confront the alleged owners, and also the authorities. That’s when the criminalization and militarization by the three levels of government began,” he says.
THE ISTHMUS IS DEFENDED
The actions in defense of the territory of the Binnizá peasants of Puente Madera began with a series of roadblocks and legal action through an injunction in the Agrarian Court, in which they denounced the irregularities of the assembly. What they received in response were 17 arrest warrants under criminal case 446/2022.
In January 2023, David was arrested for the crime of arson and damage to property. Puente Madera mobilized and he was released 48 hours later, but from that moment on, the persecution and criminalization did not cease.
“The most interesting thing,” says Mario Quintero, a member of the Assembly of Indigenous Peoples of the Isthmus in Defense of Land and Territory (APIIDTT), is that those who denounce the defender are neither the federal government nor the CIIT, but private individuals. Mario and his organization provided David with legal and moral support at all times. But after months of fighting in the courts, in February 2024, the defender was sentenced to 46 years in prison, a fine of 182,000 pesos, and damages of 1.1 million pesos.
“We were very angry when we saw the sentence handed down to our compañero David because not even a criminal would receive such a sentence. It was then that we held talks with the authorities, but in the end we had to withdraw our appeal because it was either that or perhaps death,” says Quintero. In May 2024, the Superior Court of Justice of the State of Oaxaca recognized the irregularities in the process and Salazar was acquitted. However, in July 2025, the APIIDTT and the Puente Madera Community Assembly denounced the “persistent criminalization” of the defender.
The APIIDTT activist points out that, based on this struggle in Puente Madera, he is concerned about how criminalization and prosecution are taking place in the state of Oaxaca, within the framework of the Interoceanic Corridor, against defenders of land, territory, and human rights, as well as journalists. “We have reached the point where prosecution seems like a prize, because in the worst cases, defenders and journalists are murdered and disappeared,” he says.
NOW THE DIALOGUE IS WITH ARMED AND MASKED MILITARY PERSONNEL
Without consulting indigenous communities or issuing an Environmental Impact Statement, work began on the rehabilitation of Line K of the CIIT, which connects Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca, with the Guatemalan border. Activist and environmentalist Edgar Martín documented all the environmental damage that occurred in 2024 along the 26 kilometers of communal land covered by Line K. In return, he reports, he received attacks, threats, and intimidation.
Confronting masked and armed men is the new face that Edgar sees in this mega-infrastructure project run by the Secretary of the Navy. “Before, the dialogue was between civilians, but not anymore. I was shocked when men with their faces covered arrived and began taking photos of us after we set up a blockade to prevent the felling of hundreds of endemic trees for the rehabilitation of Line K. Those are not conditions for authentic dialogue,” he laments.
At home, where he documents everything he has experienced, Edgar recounts his story: “They beat me up for defending a hill and I am still being threatened. Today I live under federal protection, but the most surprising thing is that militarization has also strengthened organized crime. They operated a stone quarry together in the agricultural center of Juchitán.”
The defense of the territory has claimed the lives of 32 defenders so far during the administration of Salomón Jara Cruz’s Morena government, according to the report, Alas y Raíces (Wings and Roots), 2025, presented by Oaxacan organizations and collectives.
The report, based mainly on cases published in La Minuta, by the organization Educa Oaxaca, and on journalistic sources and human rights organizations, records a total of 114 attacks: 44 against individuals and 70 against groups, communities, collectives, organizations, or social movements in Oaxaca.
Alas y Raíces emphasizes that of all the attacks recorded in the state, 27 were classified as attempts on life, with three types of attacks: homicide, extrajudicial execution, and forced disappearance.
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, one of the eight regions into which Oaxaca is geographically divided, is, according to the report, the most violent area for defenders, with 50 percent of all recorded attacks related to the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT). The document records a total of 20 attacks, almost two-thirds of all attacks in the state. These 20 cases involve 136 defenders from the Isthmus.
This picture is compounded by the report from the Civil Observation Mission in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (MCO), covering the period from May 1, 2021, to May 1, 2024. During this period, the MCO recorded a total of 72 attacks and 226 various assaults against human rights defenders. The percentages are as follows: intimidation, 30 percent; harassment, 28 percent; threats, 10 percent; and physical assaults, 7 percent. In addition, three homicides against Zapotec defenders were documented: Jesús Manuel Martínez (2022), Félix Vicente Cruz (2023), and Noel López Gallegos (2023).
This report emphasizes that 92 percent of the victims are members of indigenous peoples, with the Ayuujk and Binnizá peoples facing the highest number of attacks against them due to the permanent and prominent presence of the army, the Navy, and the National Guard.
WE CONTINUE TO BUILD NETWORKS
Juana emphasizes that forging alliances, speaking out, and attending forums with other collectives is what strengthens them, because it makes their voices heard. Although she acknowledges that arrest warrants are a way to “frighten and criminalize us,” they are not giving up.
Edgar, who continues to defend his Gubiña territory in Unión Hidalgo through legal battles and appeals, agrees. “They will not silence us. Fortunately, we are still surrounded by people who also understand the struggle we are fighting.“ David, for his part, affirms from the fields and corn plantations that El Pitayal will continue to be a community space where communalism is present. ”They think that by silencing us, we will stop, but that’s why we have the fields. We are resisting from the furrows, because without land, there is simply nothing.”
Research and reporting by Diana Manzo.
Photos were community produced with support by Tirso Navarrete.
Video direction by Diana Manzo.
Antes de que Anochezca, Desinformémonos, October 2025.
Tranlated by Schools for Chiapas.