In response, alleged human traffickers maintain a roadblock and demand that three people detained by the communities be handed over to them.
Tseltal indigenous people from the municipalities of Nicolás Ruiz, and from two communities of Venustiano Carranza and Totolapa, located in the central area of the state of Chiapas, placed community guards to stop human traffickers; they explained that they carry out “a cleaning to throw out those who provoke violence in these territories”. However, they warn of reprisals against them and accuse officials of the Mexican government of complicity with organized crime.
According to authorities of the Common Goods of Nicolás Ruiz, last Friday around 1:00 p.m., municipal police were doing their security patrol, when they found some trucks at the height of Cerro La Lanza with a group of heavily armed people.
“In the fact, the group of armed people was charging migrants, so our municipal police said that illicit work is prohibited within the territory of our people of Nicolás Ruiz,” says a statement released on Saturday night.
They detailed that the municipal police of Nicolás Ruiz alerted the community “to activate the internal security mechanisms within our territory, such as community rounds and 24-hour surveillance, so our territory is on high alert”.
To this action, the communities of Nuevo León and Matamoros belonging to the municipality of Venustiano Carranza, and Ponciano Arriaga of the municipality of Totolapa joined. They said that together they carry out “a cleaning to throw out those who provoke violence in these territories”.
This is a region used as a passage by human traffickers, who take migrants from the mountainous area of Chiapas to the central municipalities and from there, take them to the northern border of Mexico.
In response to the action of the residents of the three municipalities, people who said they were from the community of Betania, located in the municipality of Teopisca, blocked the road that connects to the capital. This community, Betania, has been denounced for participating in large-scale human trafficking, and being part of organized crime groups with presence throughout the country.
In the blockade, the inhabitants of Betania accused the residents of Nicolás Ruiz of holding three people, and although they did not explain the circumstances of the detention, it was unofficially reported that they were detained when they were participating in the trafficking and heavily armed.
In Nicolás Ruiz, the population said that there are “armed groups that are still in the surroundings”. They said they fear an armed action against them.
“We demand that the Mexican State control its people, we know very well that it is from the governmental institutions and high officials, from where the action of these groups is allowed and tolerated,” they accused.
They demanded respect for their territories. “We ourselves know how to take care of ourselves and protect ourselves, we do not need more armed people, we demand respect for life and dignity. We call on human rights organizations and national and international solidarity, to be attentive and demand the Mexican State to stop the violence in our territories.”
They recalled that Nicolás Ruiz is from the Maya Tseltal people who have preserved their customs and identity. They said that they have been constantly harassed, not only by state authorities to undermine their internal community organization, but also by organized crime groups.
Source: Aristegui Noticias
