Mexico’s southern border is becoming increasingly dangerous due to drug trafficking conflicts

(In Spanish below)

More than eight out of ten residents say they suffer from insecurity in Tapachula, the main city on Mexico’s southern border, which has the fifth highest level of insecurity in the country.

This comes amid conflicts between drug cartels that have displaced hundreds of Mexicans to Guatemala.

For the first time in five years, Tapachula is one of the five most dangerous municipalities in the country, according to the National Urban Public Safety Survey (ENSU). Last week, the ENSU reported that 84.7% of residents do not feel safe, compared to 59.4% nationally.

The phenomenon comes as rival criminal gangs intensify their conflicts along Mexico’s southern border, recruiting young people and prompting at least 400 Chiapas residents to flee to Guatemala since July, Mexican Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena said this week.

The situation is worsening as Tapachula becomes the epicenter of migration in Mexico, where the government registered a record 1.4 million irregular migrants from January to May, an annual increase of about 650%.

Rafael Alegría López, a migrant rights defender in the region, said Saturday that the level of insecurity has increased due to the negligence of the authorities and because Tapachula, as a border city, is caught in the fight between human and drug trafficking cartels.

“We see that in many communities, especially in the Sierra region, they suffer from the control, differences and conflicts between the cartels, which has forced the displacement of many families, especially from Chiapas, to the neighboring country. This fills us with sadness and uncertainty,” he said.

Residents besieged by crime

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had previously dismissed a crisis of “ungovernability,” has acknowledged the problem of the presence of criminal groups.

“In the case of Chiapas, one of the things that worries us a lot, from what I’ve heard, is that they’re trying to recruit young people into gangs,” the president said at his Friday morning press conference.

Businessman Fidel Aguilar described the situation as a “serious and uncontrollable” problem that had overwhelmed the authorities.

“It’s a situation where you can’t go downtown because at six or seven at night, Tapachula is no longer safe. There are crimes, executions and situations that no longer offer the security necessary to move around as before,” he said.

Migrants also face violence

Insecurity also affects the migrant community that seeks to cross the country to reach northern Mexico, such as Venezuelan Inesta Pérez, who left her country with a group of five children and nine adults.

The migrant said the journey to Mexico is difficult and the hardest part is crossing Central American countries, where they suffer from insecurity and theft.

“It’s very difficult. The goal is to get to the United States so that the child (her son) can be diagnosed and see an oncologist. We are going with the help of Jehovah. It’s not easy, we are simply asking the Mexican authorities to help us get to the United States,” she said.

For Luis Rey García, director of the Center for Human Dignity (CDH), in the area where the cartels are fighting over territory, there is no border separating the countries, which creates extreme insecurity.

“There is no border, the displaced are not 400, Mr. President of Guatemala, Mr. President of Mexico, not 200, but thousands of displaced people. This is the effect of a complicit, useless, non-existent government,” criticized the defender of migrants’ rights.

The Mexican border is increasingly protected in conflicts related to drug trafficking.

More than a dozen residents reported insecurity in Mexico’s main border city, Tapachula, the country’s fifth-largest city, amid a conflict between drug trafficking cartels that have been destroyed by Mexican centers in Guatemala.

This is the first time in 5 years that Tapachula is among the five most protected municipalities in the country, according to the National Urban Public Security Survey (Ensu), which last week revealed that 84.7% of its residents perceived insecurity, compared to 59.4% at the national level.

The phenomenon occurred while it crecen the disputes of rival gangs of organized crime in the limit of Mexico, where it recruited young people and provoked since July the week of at least 400 citizens of the state of Chiapas in Guatemala, then recognized the Mexican annulment, Alicia Barcelona, ​​this week.

And the situation is getting worse as Tapachula becomes the epicenter of the migratory phenomenon in Mexico, as the government intercepted a record 1.4 million irregular migrants from January to May, an interannual subsidy of about 650%.

Rafael Alegría López, a defender of migrants’ rights in the region, explained to EFE that the level of insecurity increased that day thanks to the search by the authorities and because Tapachula, despite being a border city, is in the middle of the conflict of cartels for the trafficking of people and drugs.

“We have many municipalities, on everything that happens in the Sierra area, that are subject to this control, to the differences and conflicts that exist between the cartels, which has been forced just to the forced displacement of many families, of many chiapanecos, to the brother country. We are full of sadness and uncertainty”, he expressed.

Low inhabitants asedio del crimen

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who stepped down before a crisis of ingovernability, has acknowledged the problem of the presence of criminal groups.

“In the case of Chiapas, one of the things that matters most to us is that it is saved, is that I seek to make a kind of levy (reclutamiento), of commitment, of young people for the gangs,” expressed the representative during his conference. matutina del viernes.

In his regard, Emperor Fidel Aguilar considered this man a “serious and uncontrollable” problem that was rejected by the authorities.

“It is a situation in which you cannot leave your house in the center, because at night and in the evening you are not safe Tapachula. “At all times there are crimes in relation to things, emissions and situations that do not allow you to guarantee the security of the circular as before,” he said.

Migrants also face violence

Insecurity also affects the migrant community that seeks to cross the country to go to northern Mexico, such as Venezuelan Inesta Pérez, who left her country in a group of five children and new adults.

The migrant said that the journey to Mexico was difficult and the most complicated thing was crossing the Central American countries, where he was a victim of insecurity, he could have been robbed.

“Of course, the meta is sent to the United States for the diagnosis of the child (child), who can see an oncologist. Vamos from the hand of Jehovah. It is not easy, we only sent to the Mexican authorities who help us enter the United States,” he said.

For Luis Rey García Villagrán, director of the Center for Human Dignity (CDH), in the area where the territory of the borderless cartels that divide the countries is disputed, this has generated a climate of serious insecurity.

“No borders, the displaced have no sons 400, the president of Guatemala, the president of Mexico, has no sons 200, they have miles of displaced, this is the effect of having a solitary, useless, non-existent government,” criticized the defender of migrants.