EFE
More than 200 indigenous people, who suffered forced displacement due to violence and insecurity due to the cartel dispute on the Mexico-Guatemala border, asked for help from the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and the -elected chair, Claudia Sheinbaum.
The purpose of this petition is to recover the property, houses, land and peace of their communities which, they said, has been lost since 2021.
Artemio, who withheld his last name for safety reasons and is an displaced indigenous member of the Mam ethnic group, described the threats and intimidation he suffered from armed groups, who as well as his overriding concern with violence and its elimination. transactions.
“We came to look for (help), we saw that authorities were coming from Mexico City, that’s why we went in, so that our Government can give us security,” said Artemio, 70 a year old.
Immersed in distress, uncertainty and sadness, the man asked himself: “What is going to happen to those residents whose houses were burnt, what will happen if they are going to return one day, where are they going to live, who are they with? going to start? “It’s sad for us, that’s why we really want help.”
The help was requested by the indigenous people after they attended the first health consultations and social programs implemented by the federal government in the city of Amatenango de la Frontera, a city where the Sinaloa Cartel and its ‘ corn group, the executive branch of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel disputes the land.
In an interview with the media, Omar de Lassé, head of the Unit of Care of Social Groups of the Ministry of the Interior (Interior), explained that these days they are trying to “create conditions of care in Amatenango de la Frontera and the use of officials and health services to return families who are in other cities.
But despite the fact that the Mexican Government has tried to promote safe return conditions, the displaced people emphasize that “there are no conditions because the attacks were among them (criminals) and today they are against the civilian population.”
Living in fear of attack
Regarding this harsh reality, Clara, a forcibly displaced woman, who is also a native of the Mam ethnic group, told the media how difficult it is to live with the fear and anxiety of an armed attack which may exist.
“A group of criminals came in, they entered and we had to leave, the place where we lived is no longer there because they burned houses, they burned our homes, that day a lost man, a woman,” said Clara, expelled from the community from Bejucal del Campo.
This Thursday, a security belt was also installed by representatives of the Mexican Army and the State Police, which were deployed at four different points on the Sierra Fronteriza highway that crosses Guatemala to try to prevent further attacks.
On the road, it was seen that little by little public transport has started its activities in this area, considered red due to attacks on residents, executions and forced disappearances.
While they are in Amatenango de la Frontera and Mazapa de Madero there is a tense atmosphere, due to the desertification of the communities. In some houses, the windows were open and the few remaining residents looked out in fear or caution as federal forces and medical units arrived.
A small group, representing more than 200 people, indicated that the conditions are not there to return to their homes, or to work the land for their crops. Others preferred not to mention what happened, but they pointed out that the federal authorities came.
Those who were evicted indicated that as a strategy they have implemented exits from their homes as a security measure.
On Wednesday, in the daily conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the head of the Ministry of the Interior, Luisa María Alcalde, said that around 200 people, most of them from Amatenango de la Frontera , “over the border and being treated. ” in Guatemala.
He said they agreed with the residents that health caravans and wellness modules would be installed on Thursday “because we are going to provide comprehensive care, of course with the support of the Guard National and the Mexican Army to guarantee conditions of tranquility, peace, well-being, and that there can be a safe return.
2024-08-16 16:20:02
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