Guatemala grants immigration status to 207 Mexicans seeking refuge

GuatemalaThe National Migration Institute of Guatemala announced on Monday that it has granted humanitarian status to 207 Mexicans, mostly children and adolescents, who sought refuge in the country for fear of organized crime groups.

At a press conference, Danilo Rivera, director of Migration, stated that the certification lasts 30 days and that later, if they so wish, people could request another regular status such as refuge or asylum.

At least 44 family units were reported missing. Rivera said that several national and international organizations are providing support to the refugees with water, food and other items.

Since Sunday, July 21, hundreds of Mexicans living in several communities in the municipality of Amatenango la Frontera, Chiapas, in southern Mexico, have fled their country amid gunfire caused by clashes between drug trafficking groups fighting for control of the area.

A 42-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified because she fears for her life, told The Associated Press that she left her community with her four children. “With the shootings, I couldn’t leave my house to look for food. Imagine what I had to feed my little children,” she said, on the verge of tears. “We don’t know how much longer this will take. We don’t know if we will be able to return.”

Women, girls, boys, men and the elderly sought refuge in the community of Ampliación Nueva Reforma in the municipality of Cuilco in the department of Huehuetenango, on the other side of the border, already in Guatemala. Many had relatives and others stayed in the humble school in the community.

The population offered them help and teachers and village authorities organized to collect food until government aid arrived on Thursday.

More than 100 army and police officers are guarding the community and the border area.

The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, which have been engaged in a bloody battle in many parts of Mexico, have been fighting for control of migrant, drug and arms trafficking routes for over a year, especially in the border area with Guatemala.

Thousands of Mexicans have fled from the south in search of refuge due to the violence of drug trafficking groups and the constant clashes that have left several dead and missing.