Civil Society Organization Las Abejas de Acteal
Sacred Land of the Martyrs of Acteal
Acteal, Chenalhó, Chiapas, Mexico
February 13, 2026
To the National Indigenous Congress
To the Indigenous Governing Council
To the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
To Human Rights Defenders
To Free and Alternative Media
To National and International Media
To National and International Civil Society
Brothers and sisters:
Yesterday, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, posted on his social media account that: “the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN or Supreme Court) exercised its power of attraction to hear the appeal for review 514/2025, filed by members of the Tsotsil people of Chiapas, belonging to the organization Las Abejas de Acteal.” In this regard, the Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society Organization strongly disassociates itself from this matter, publicly stating and clarifying our position.
We wish to clarify that our civil society organization, LAS ABEJAS DE ACTEAL, and the survivors of the Acteal Massacre, are not meeting with the so-called “Supreme Court.” Since 2009, according to this “highest court of justice,” it has demonstrated its complete lack of will to administer justice and has sided with impunity by releasing all the confessed paramilitaries. We know this has been a political strategy to divert the line of investigation toward the intellectual authors of the Acteal Massacre.
How is it possible that after all the contempt and intransigence we have encountered from this so-called “Supreme Court,” it now expects us to demand justice for the forced displacements that occurred before and after the Acteal Massacre? Does the president of the so-called “Supreme Court” think we have no memory? Does he think we have no dignity? We tell them that we, women and men, do not sell out, we do not betray the blood of our Martyrs of Acteal.
This group of people, who have been meeting and yesterday requested the Supreme Court to take up what they call “the appeal for review 514/2025,” is a group that split from our organization in 2014. We remind them that they initially presented themselves publicly as the “Peaceful Council Sowers of Peace” and later called themselves the “Council of the Las Abejas de Acteal Organization” (hereinafter “Peaceful Council”). This is the same group that signed the amicable settlement agreement with the Mexican State in 2020; they have tried to dispossess us of our headquarters in Acteal, vandalizing our homes and belongings. Since 2014, they have been usurping the name of our organization, using our seal and logo, confusing and distorting information, playing into the hands of the corrupt government. Their actions of impersonation, dispossession, and identity theft led us to issue the following public clarifications, which can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPbbTo0rAVs
We do not object to the “Pacifist Council” group holding meetings or activities with the corrupt government, or in this case, with the so-called “Supreme Court,” and taking photos. However, they have no right to call themselves the Las Abejas de Acteal Organization and, instead of using their own photos, use ours—photos from our celebrations and actions in the Sacred Land of Acteal. This is disrespectful because it distorts reality and confuses the public.
We also want to address the media outlets that publicized yesterday’s event in the so-called “Supreme Court” courtroom, such as: PROCESO, article by Diana Lastiri, La Jornada by Iván Evair Saldaña, EL SOBERANO LA VOZ DEL PUEBLO, Expansión Política by Yared de la Rosa, MILENIO by Carlos Vega, 24 HORAS EL DIARIO SIN LÍMITES and CUADRATIN CHIAPAS by Argenis Esquipulas, POLÍTICO MX by Salvador Maceda, LA SILLA ROTA by MARCO ANTONIO MARTÍNEZ, EL IMPARCIAL by Héctor Chinchillas Ramírez, and among others, most of whom mention that the “Supreme Court is reviewing the Acteal case again” and that they are the Abejas de Acteal. To these media outlets and those who have revisited this same topic, we respectfully request that you remove the images of Las Abejas de Acteal from your publications. For ethical and truthful reasons, you should use the images of the ” Peaceful Council ” group, since you are referring to them and not to the Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society Organization, whose members are present here.
We want to remind you that we have stated on several occasions in our previous statements that the Acteal Case is before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and that we are awaiting the issuance of the Merits Report, in which we have requested that the Mexican State be held responsible for the Acteal Massacre. When that happens, the so-called “Supreme Court” will be forced to administer justice and condemn the intellectual authors. It will be at that moment that it will stand on the side of truth and justice or reaffirm its complicity in impunity, as it already demonstrated in 2009. Now, even if the people on the “Supreme Court” change, the system remains the same: impunity.
Given all of the above, WE DEMAND:
a) That Chief Justice Hugo Aguilar Ortiz correct his statement that he met with the “Pacifist Council” group and not with the Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society Organization.
b) That the media, when publishing any meeting or activity carried out by the so-called “Supreme Court” with the “Pacifist Council,” not confuse it with the Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society Organization.
c) That the media outlets that have published on this matter remove all our photos, because their actions fuel the misrepresentation, and that this not happen in the future. AND THAT THIS STATEMENT BE PUBLISHED ON THEIR WEBSITES.
d) If you have any questions or would like us to elaborate further on this matter, please contact us to clarify your doubts and questions.
Finally, we want to make it clear that our Civil Society Organization, Las Abejas de Acteal, after the Acteal Massacre and after the ruling by the so-called “Supreme Court” to release the paramilitaries responsible for the Acteal Massacre, DECIDED NOT TO MEET, NOT TO DIALOGUE, AND NOT TO HAVE ANY RELATIONSHIP WITH any state or federal government entity until it acknowledges its responsibility.
We ask national and international civil society to be vigilant and not be misled: we maintain our resistance, our struggle for autonomy and self-determination, as well as for Memory, Justice, and comprehensive reparations.
From Acteal, House of Memory and Hope.
Sincerely,
The Voice of the Civil Society Organization Las Abejas de Acteal
On behalf of the Board of Directors:
Eduardo Gutiérrez Pérez Juan Pérez López
President Secretary
Carlos Flores Gómez
Treasurer
On behalf of the representatives of the survivors of the Acteal Massacre:
Diego Pérez Jiménez Marco Antonio Gómez Vázquez
Original article from Las Abejas, February 13th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.