Chiapas: Diocese of San Cristobal and Believing People Denounce Increase of Narco Violence in State

Recently, the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas and the Believing People of the San Pedro and San Pablo parish of Chicomuselo have denounced, through two statements, the situation of violence that prevails in Chiapas, mainly in the border area with Guatemala.

At the beginning of December, after the retention of a group of believers from the Catholic Church, they had already written some publications requesting the intervention of the three levels of government; however, given the lack of response, they once again expressed their concern and denounced “the omission on the part of the State given this very painful reality.”

On this occasion, the document requests “the immediate disarmament of the criminal groups that operate in the region and the restoration of social order without putting civil society at risk” as well as the “recovery of the territory so that our people can be subjects of their history, while denouncing that there is a collection of protection money, in addition to the pressure and social control of criminal groups that subject communities and towns to the condition of kidnapping.”

They also denounced that “there are threats, harassment, intimidation, persecution of civil society, presence of armed people in our communities, looting and mining exploitation that remains under threats and intimidation to ejidal authorities and localities with the presence of armed men.”

For its part, the Diocese of San Cristobal, in its statement titled “A Cry for Peace Silenced by Weapons,” points out that “in the state of Chiapas we are living in the midst of criminal groups that dispute the territory, putting civil society as the human shield in said dispute, without enforcing the right of the people to security, free movement, peace and others, on a permanent basis”, “the voices of our people are being silenced by violence, weapons and intimidation”.

They also mention that organized crime keeps the towns under siege and that they are greatly concerned about the current situation in Frontera Comalapa, Chicomuselo, Siltepec, Motozintla, Bella Vista, Maravilla Tenejapa, La Grandeza and Altamirano.

For more information in Spanish:

“Las voces de nuestros pueblos están siendo silenciadas”: Diócesis de San Cristóbal denuncia aumento de violencia en Chiapas (Animal Político 23 de diciembre de 2023)

Crece en Chiapas la narcoviolencia: Diócesis de San Cristóbal de Las Casas (Proceso 21 de diiembre de 2023)

Organización Pueblo Creyente de Chiapas pide desarme de grupos delictivos (La Jornada 21 de diciembre de 2023)

For more information from SIPAZ: