State police officers cleared residents of the municipality of Villa Comaltitlán who were blocking Federal Highway 200 on Sunday, demanding justice for the death of 17-year-old student Óscar José González Reynoso, who was run over by a vehicle on Wednesday, April 15.
The Chiapas State Security Secretariat reported that members of the State Guard and the Pakal Immediate Reaction Force (FRIP) participated in the operation to clear the highway, which had been blocked for several hours and had paralyzed freight, passenger, and private transportation in the area.
State police officers used tear gas to clear the road, causing residents to scatter in several directions, some on motorcycles and others on foot, along the highway and into the woods, fleeing the gas, which seemed to be suffocating them.
The highway had been blocked for 18 hours, disrupting the travel of thousands of people from Central America to central Mexico and other states like Tamaulipas and Nuevo León.
Family, friends, and acquaintances of the young student from the College of Scientific and Technological Studies of the State of Chiapas (Cecyte) campus 03, who lost his life, proceeded to close the highway connecting Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, with Tepic, Nayarit, on Saturday night.
Spokespeople for the protesters stated that they had requested dialogue with officials from the Attorney General’s Office and the State Government Secretariat, but had not been heard, so they proceeded to block the highway.
“We reiterate that in Chiapas, dialogue and reaching agreements are prioritized,” the State Security Secretariat said in a statement.
It was reported that a group of 12 people remained at the blockade, but their whereabouts are unknown.
Sources from the Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that 20 people have been arrested, and that their legal status will be determined in the coming hours.
Source: es-us.noticias.yahoo
