The indigenous municipality of Nicolás Ruiz, located in the central region of Chiapas, approximately 89 kilometers from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, reactivated its community guards and declared a state of “maximum alert” following an armed attack perpetrated by an organized crime group on Friday, April 24. The attack left four people dead—two farmers and two alleged hitmen—one community member kidnapped (Ángel Jiménez López), and eight people wounded.
The following day, the Attorney General of the State of Chiapas, Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca, reported via video on “a confrontation between residents and an armed civilian group” in the municipalities of Nicolás Ruiz and Venustiano Carranza. He stated that an operation with more than 200 police officers had been deployed and that the situation had been brought under control.
However, two weeks after the events, Chiapas authorities have not reported any progress in the investigations into the presence of organized crime groups in the area, nor on the identities of the two alleged hitmen killed, whose bodies were found inside two burned vehicles.
The case appears to have disappeared from the official agenda of the state government. Ángel Jiménez López remains missing, and authorities have not reported any progress in locating him or identifying the criminal group linked to the violence in the region.
Given this situation, the UN Committee against Enforced Disappearances (CED) issued an Urgent Action request to the Mexican State regarding the disappearance of the indigenous community member.
According to a press release from the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba), Urgent Action 2316/2026 was sent on May 1, 2026. The CED called on the Mexican government to immediately implement search and location efforts, as well as strengthen investigations with a comprehensive and coordinated approach. The organization set May 15, 2026, as the deadline for the Mexican State to report on the measures adopted in compliance with this urgent action.
Another person missing since April 24 is Francisco Javier Nuriulu Suchiapa, 32 years old, last seen in the community of Vicente Guerrero, in the municipality of Venustiano Carranza, according to Frayba.
In municipalities such as Venustiano Carranza, Teopisca, Amatenango del Valle, Acala, and Villa Las Rosas, at least 22 recent disappearances have been documented, in a context marked by the presence of armed groups and the alleged tolerance of authorities, the organization stated.
The case of Ángel Jiménez López exemplifies the “grave security situation in the area” and the forced disappearances in Chiapas. Frayba warned that this situation is part of a national problem that led the CED, in April 2016, to request that the UN Secretary-General bring the issue of disappearances in Mexico to the General Assembly.
What happened in Nicolás Ruiz reveals the institutional fragility of the State in rural regions where entire communities feel they must organize their own defense. In many areas of Chiapas, formal authority has been displaced by community checkpoints, local armed groups, or criminal networks vying for territorial control.
Until 1994, Nicolás Ruiz, in contrast to its neighbors in Venustiano Carranza, was considered a “peaceful” municipality with almost unanimous support for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). After the Zapatista uprising, according to studies by sociologist Inés Castro Apreza, the Assembly of Communal Landholders decided to support the PRD, while part of the population joined the EZLN’s support base.
Since November 2023, the EZLN had warned about the deteriorating security situation in Chiapas and announced the closure of its 16 Caracoles (Zapatista autonomous communities) and the dissolution of 43 Zapatista Autonomous Rebel Municipalities (MAREZ), denouncing the advance of organized crime in the state.
Communities located in the municipalities of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Comitán, Las Margaritas, and Palenque—within the Zapatista area of influence—were identified as having a strong presence and engaging in disputes with criminal groups. Roadblocks, kidnappings, extortion, forced recruitment, and armed confrontations were documented in these regions.
Following the change in state government and the creation of the Pakal Immediate Reaction Force (FRIP), security was reinforced on major highways and in cities, primarily in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, San Cristóbal, and Comitán, as well as in the border region (Comalapa) and the Frailesca region.
To date, the EZLN has not announced the reopening of the Caracoles to visitors, organizations, or permanent activities. Although selective meetings and political events were held in some Zapatista territories in 2025, such as the Caracol of Morelia, external access remains restricted and under community control.
Source: lasillaota
