Chiapas: Three Members of OCEZ-RC Killed by Suspected Paramilitaries

Photo: Chiapasparalelo

On May 24th, the bodies of three murdered men were found in the Nuevo Soyatitan ejido, Venustiano Carranza municipality. Authorities found an abandoned vehicle at 10:40 am with the victims by its side.

The victims are Jorge Armando Hernandez Perez, 35 years old; Jordan Lopez de la Cruz, 36, and Abenamar Hernandez de la Cruz, 25, the first of them the son of the former leader of the Casa del Pueblo and now leader of the OCEZ-RC, Jose Manuel Hernandez Martinez, better known as El Chema.

The murderers left a message on a card addressed precisely to Hernandez Martinez that said: “Don Chema, Los Coyotes and Casa del Pueblo are going to be screwed.”

“These summary executions committed by a paramilitary command acting under government protection and coordinated by the narco-politician and boss Jesus Alejo Orantes Ruiz send a direct message to the compañeros of the OCEZ-RC, who decided to accompany and support the struggle that as community members of the Casa del Pueblo decided to start with the defense and recovery of our communal lands”, the OCEZ-RC and the Casa del Pueblo communal property of Venustiano Carranza said in a statement.

The State Attorney General’s Office reported that it opened an investigation file for the homicide of the three campesinos.

These latest murders strained the context even more in Venustiano Carranza when just on May 5th, the agrarian dispute for the possession of thousands of hectares of land between members of the OCEZ – Casa del Pueblo and the San Bartolome de Los Llanos Alliance gave rise to an outbreak of violence that claimed the lives of two people from the Casa del Pueblo.

For more information in Spanish:

Asesinan a hijo de dirigente social en Carranza, El Heraldo de Chiapas, 24 de mayo de 2021

Matan a tres comuneros y les dejan mensaje en Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas, Proceso, 24 de mayo de 2021

Chiapas: presuntos paramilitares matan a 3 campesinos de la OCEZ-RC, La Jornada, 25 de mayo de 2021

Acribillados, encienden alarma en Carranza, Cuarto poder, 25 de mayo de 2021

For more information from SIPAZ: