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Chiapas Indigenous Communities Report Armed Attack, Two Dead
🇲🇽 Mexico /Conflict & Security

Chiapas Indigenous Communities Report Armed Attack, Two Dead

From El Universal · (9m ago) Spanish Critical tone

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Indigenous Tzotzil communities in Chiapas reported an armed assault by criminal groups on April 24, resulting in the deaths of a community member and a woman traveling on public transport.
  • The Tzotzil community organized and defended themselves against the armed group, subsequently incinerating the attackers' vehicle and bodies.
  • The community is now reinforcing security and vowing to prevent organized crime from operating in their region, citing concerns over disappearances and extortion.

In the heart of Chiapas, the Tzotzil indigenous communities of the Emiliano Zapata Campesino Organization (OCEZ) Casa del Pueblo are facing a brutal reality. On April 24, while peacefully blocking a road to demand attention from state officials, they were violently attacked by an armed group. This aggression resulted in the tragic deaths of one of their own and an innocent woman traveling on public transport.

The armed group passed by to attack us with firearms.

— Jesús Vázquez SolanoPresident of the Communal Property Commissary of Venustiano Carranza, describing the initial aggression.

Our people were forced to defend themselves against this unprovoked assault. The ensuing confrontation saw the armed attackers neutralized, their vehicle and bodies subsequently burned. This act, while born of necessity, underscores the desperate measures our communities must take to survive in the face of escalating organized crime.

Our people got very angry about this aggression; they had to organize and defend themselves. Our people defended themselves.

— Jesús Vázquez SolanoExplaining the community's reaction to the armed assault.

Now, 12 days later, the Casa del Pueblo has bolstered security in Venustiano Carranza. We will not stand idly by while criminal organizations threaten our existence, disappear our people, and extort our citizens. As campesinos, we have a fundamental right to live and work in peace, to provide for our families without fear. The recent disappearance of Ángel Jiménez López, a fellow Tzotzil, following these clashes, highlights the ongoing terror we face.

We do not want organized crime to enter (Venustiano Carranza) to make our colleagues disappear, to extort citizens.

— Jesús Vázquez SolanoStating the community's resolve against criminal elements.

This situation is not merely a matter of law and order; it is a fight for our very survival and our right to self-determination. While international news may focus on the violence, they often miss the deep-rooted struggle of indigenous communities for security and justice in a region increasingly abandoned by the state. We are vigilant, we are organized, and we will protect our homes and our people.

The Casa del Pueblo, however it can, will not allow organized crime to enter.

— Jesús Vázquez SolanoReiterating the community's firm stance.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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