… Shootings, forced recruitment and roadblocks paralyze Frontera Comalapa, as battles spread across multiple groups that include the military and citizen vigilante groups in a multi-front drug war …
May 30, 2023-10:58 EDT
For two years, a war between criminal groups has terrorized Frontera Comalapa and its farming communities. Residents and NGOs have denounced an upsurge in violence
The war between criminal groups that is terrorizing the population in a strip of land along the border between the Mexican state of Chiapas and Guatemala is intensifying. In recent days, hundreds of residents have been forced to leave their homes on ejidos (government-managed communal farmland) in the municipality of Frontera Comalapa, north of Tapachula, due to confrontations between the battling factions. The Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba) has also reported that the cartels are forcing young people from these communities to join their ranks, under threat of death.
In videos recorded by residents of the communities in the municipality, the effects of the spate of violence are evident. In one, dozens of people can be seen walking quickly, apparently fleeing from criminal groups. Another shows pickup trucks equipped with handmade armor-plating, commonly known in the region as “monsters.” Similar trucks have been seen Michoacán and Tamaulipas in recent years and are used by armed bandits to stage raids.
The recent increase in violence on the border comes on top to the conflicts that other areas of Chiapas have been experiencing for years. In San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the region of Los Altos, shootouts are increasingly common. In April, the murder of Jerónimo Ruiz, the head of the Chiapas Traditional Market Tenants’ Association, unleashed a wave of clashes between armed groups and the burning of houses and cars in the city, one of southern Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations.
The conflict on the border has been ongoing for over two years. Local media report that the warring groups are local factions of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel. The fighting has taken down local leaders, whose only crime has been to try to denounce the situation and force the authorities, particularly the army, to intervene. Those who have dared to speak out have been met with punishment by the gangs.
Last September, residents of the Ejido Sinaloa in Frontera Comalapa reported the disappearance of commissioner Rolando Rodríguez, the community’s highest authority. Local digital media outlet Chiapas Paralelo stated that Rodríguez had been away by criminals after he went to an army barracks in the neighboring town of Comitán to denounce the constant clashes between organized crime groups. At the time, Ejido Sinaloa had been caught in the crossfire between the warring factions.
In April, the cartels also took Roberto Gómez and his children. Like Rodríguez, Gómez was one of Ejido Sinaloa’s leading figures. According to local media, he was kidnapped just a few hundred meters from a military garrison operating in the area. Over the last year and a half, similar cases have been reported in Ejido Sinaloa and other communities in Comalapa. Chiapas Paralelo reports that in this area alone, there have been 59 reports of forced disappearances during this period.
Frayba states that between May 25 and 27, there were blockades, shootings and forced recruitment in the communities of Nueva Independencia, Maravillas, Nuevo Amatenango, Santa Rita la Frontera, and Chamic.
“In the last four days there has been an alarming increase in violence in the municipality,” the organization said in a statement. “Young people from various communities were forcibly recruited by criminal gangs. [Residents] report that at least 3,000 people were displaced from their communities. Some have sought temporary shelter and others have been taking refuge in the mountains or some other safe place for days. We are also informed that many families remain in their homes without being able to leave; they are locked in because of the extreme terror they are experiencing. It has come to this under the mechanics of complicity and abandonment of the Mexican government.”
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Friday, May 27, 2023
Posted by Chiapas Support Committee
https://chiapas-support.org
A truck is set on fire in Mazapa de Madero, where there was also a shootout and a message left. Photo: La Jornada
From the Editors
Between Tuesday and Thursday, alleged members of organized crime groups sustained shootouts and maintained intermittent roadblocks at different points on the highway located between the municipality of Frontera Comalapa, Chiapas, and the border with Guatemala due to the dispute over territorial control, residents reported.
They assured that one of the most critical points is located in the town of Nueva Independencia, popularly known as Lajerío, where during yesterday afternoon and evening the men who reside in the area fled into the mountains or to the bank of a river, because one of the cartels is recruiting them.
“They’ve picked up (kidnapped) a lot of people. The armed and hooded men are in the center of the community waiting for the night to take the men out and take them away. Almost all the houses (approximately 200) are empty,” said a resident of the region, who said that people are defenseless because there is no presence of public security forces in the area.
“We left the houses because (the gunmen) are coming in and taking out young people to recruit them. And there is no help to defend us. Today they started doing it and that’s why most of us left. In Lajerío there is the biggest problem and they say there are deaths.”
Other locals reported that this situation began on Tuesday, after the murder of a local transport leader; They assured that the blockades and skirmishes began that day among alleged members of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación and the Sinaloa Cartel.
They indicated that since then there have been no classes in Frontera Comalapa and all activities were suspended. “The streets are desolate because people are afraid and sheltered in their homes,” warned one resident; “The authorities have not shown their face,” he claimed.
Those affected reported that there have been roadblocks in the town of Pacayalito, the exit to the municipality of Motozintla, located in the mountains of the state, as well as in the Tres Maravillas ejido, in the direction of Chicomuselo.
Also, in Sabinada, next to Guadalupe Grijalva, where several skirmishes have occurred, and in the detour of Nuevo México, Santa Rita and Paso Hondo (a few kilometers from the border with Guatemala), the exit to Comitán.
“Everything has been closed since Tuesday and although they opened for a little bit, there have been permanent roadblocks since Wednesday night,” they maintained.
The narcomanta (narco banner) in Mazapa de Madero.
They added that in the municipality of Mazapa de Madero, located in the same area, there was also a shootout yesterday, “they burned a truck and left a narcomanta (narco-banner) addressed to the organization called Maíz; that it has no choice but to accede to what the cartel that dominates the border area wants.”
Meanwhile, in Chicomuselo, neighboring municipality of Frontera Comalapa, according to some residents the situation was also tense yesterday because since Wednesday the entrance was obstructed; “You can’t leave or enter.” In this context, it was reported that activist Fredy Milton Morales Zunun was detained, but hours later he was released.
On the other hand, at the request of the National Human Rights Commission, the State Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection agreed to implement precautionary measures in the Nuevo Morelia ejido, in Chicomuselo, where alleged workers of a company, supported by armed men, have been removing barite extracted from a mine since last weekend.
Frayba asked AMLO to guaranty security in Caracol 10
The Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center asked President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to urgently guaranty “the life, security and physical and psychological integrity of residents of the Moisés y Gandhi region,” belonging to Caracol 10, where Gilberto López Sántiz, a support base of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN, Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional) was shot and [seriously] wounded on the 22nd of this month.
https://chiapas-support.org/2023/05/27/shootings-and-roadblocks-paralyze-frontera-comalapa-chiapas/
Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada, Friday, May 26, 2023, https://www.jornada.com.mx/2023/05/26/estados/026n2est
and Re-Published with English interpretation by the Chiapas Support Committee
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Clashes between the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and the Cartel de Sinaloa (CDS) in Chiapas have displaced over 3,000 people from the municipalities of Frontera Comalapa and Chicomuselo this past week. On Friday, residents accused the cartels of forcing young men into the cartels.
Intense clashes began last Monday and have killed 60 people, most of whom are alleged members of the cartels. The clashes and subsequent blockades were reported in Frontera Comalapa, Amatenango de la Frontera, Mazapa de Madero, Chicomuselo, Siltepec, and Motozintla. Since last Tuesday, classes in the municipalities have been suspended.
According to the Digna Ochoa Human Rights Committee (CDH), the entire Ejido de Nueva Independencia community, also known as Lajerío, in Frontera Comalapa, have fled their homes in fear of the ongoing violence. The organization estimates that more than 3,000, including children, men, women, and senior citizens, have fled. The communities reportedly crossed a river and walked for over eight hours through the mountains to seek refuge. More people from Barrio El Corralito, Absalón Castellanos, Santo Domingo, Ejido Benito Juárez, Ejido Nicolás Bravo, Ejido Costa Rica, Ejido Mazapa, Ejido Candelaria also fled their homes. Residents decry the absence of security forces, including the military and National Guard (GN).
Digna Ochoa CDH added that one of the cartels used explosive-laden drones against the communities. They add that one of the cartels is “entering to loot and steal goods and money from the residents,” although they admit not knowing which cartel. In a message published on social media, a resident of Frontera Comalapa claimed that one of the criminal groups was forcing young men to take up arms.
On Monday, soldiers from the 39th Military Zone in Ocosingo were deployed toward Frontera Comalapa.
Clashes between the two cartels have been ongoing in Chiapas for over two years after a faction of the CDS split and later joined the CJNG following the death of CDS leader Ramón Gilberto Rivera Beltrán, known as “El Junior.” The new group surfaced as El Maiz and allied with the CJNG.
Isain Mandujano; Chiapas Paralelo; Gabriela Coutiño
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs2bc3uM-BH/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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Frontera Comalapa, Chiapas: The Consejo Indígena Group Rises Against CJNG
Monday, January 23, 2023
“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
A new armed group has risen in southern Mexico giving an explanation for their sudden existence. Within this broadcast they claim to defend indigenous citizens from extortion by an opposing cartel. Their direct attack is against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The following video was recorded near Frontera Comalapa, Chiapas.
Video translation is as follows:
To all authorities, communities and indigenous representatives. We’ve gathered today, Sunday, January 22, 2023. To announce the group called Consejo Indígena (Indigenous Council). The reason for this council is to defend our communities from extortionists, kidnappers of the so-called Jalisco New Generation Cartel. We know that they are extorting our communities under the command of Juan Valdovinos Mendoza or “El Señor de los Caballos” or Vladimir Lopez Orantes.
Let it be clear that we the indigenous brothers and sisters will not allow these rats to enter. We will defend our communities and our indigenous people. Any person who mentions these names in the communities we will bring order in our ways and customs. We also address the indigenous brothers and sisters of Chicomuselo. We will support them and not allow for them to fend for themselves because they are being harassed by the organization called El Maíz.
They are dedicated to extortion and have disappeared many of our indigenous brothers and sisters. We are publicly fighting against this organization called El Maíz. Vladimir Lopez Orantes aka El Ruso is the main boss ordering executions, disappearances, fee collections, and extortions here. He is originally from the town of Santa Teresa Llano Grande, municipality of Frontera Comalapa, Chiapas. Juan Valdovinos Mendoza aka Don Juan, is the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Chiapas. He’s a compadre of Vladimir López .
Sol Prendido Posted at 1/23/2023 07:20:00 PM
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2023/01/frontera-comalapa-chiapas-consejo.html
