Mexico’s southern border is increasingly unsafe due to drug trafficking disputes – 2024-08-03 21:59:59

More of eight out of 10 inhabitants report unsafety in the main city of the southern border of Mexico, Tapachulathe fifth highest level in the country, in the midst of the dispute of the drug trafficking cartels which has displaced hundreds of Mexicans to Guatemala.

This is the first time in 5 years that Tapachula is among the Five most unsafe municipalities in the countryaccording to National Survey of Urban Public Security (Ensu), which last week revealed that the 84.7% of its residents perceive insecurityCompared to him 59.4% nationwide.

The phenomenon occurs while the disputes between rival gangs of the organized crime In the limit South of Mexicowhere they recruit young people and have caused the flight of at least 100,000 since July. 400 citizens of the state of Chiapas a Guatemalaas acknowledged by the Mexican Foreign Minister, Alicia Barcenathis week.

And the situation worsens as Tapachula It establishes itself as the epicenter of migratory phenomenon in Mexicowhose Government intercepted a record of almost 1.4 million irregular migrants from January to May, a year-on-year increase of almost 650%.

Rafael Alegria Lopez, defender of the Migrant rights in the regionexplained this Saturday to EFE that the level of unsafety It has been increased for him negligence of the authorities and because Tapachulabeing a city borderis in the middle of the cartels’ dispute over the human and drug trafficking.

“We see in many municipalities, especially in the Sierra area, that they are suffering this controlthe differences and conflicts that exist between the cartels, which has forced precisely the forced displacement of many familiesof many Chiapas peopleto our sister country. It fills us with sadness and uncertainty,” he said.

Residents under siege by crime

The Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorwho previously ruled out a crisis of “ungovernability,” acknowledged the problem of the presence of criminal groups.

“In the case of Chiapasone of the things that we care a lot about, I’ve already heard, is that they are trying to do a kind of levy (recruitment), of hooking, of young people for the bands“the president said at his morning press conference on Friday.

In this regard, businessman Fidel Aguilar considered the fact as a problem “serious and uncontrollable“which has overwhelmed the authorities.

“It’s a situation where you can’t go out of your house to go downtown anymore, because at six or seven in the evening Tapachula is no longer safe. At any time there are crimes everywhere, executions and situations that no longer give you the security to move around like before,” he told EFE.

Migrants also suffer violence

Insecurity also affects the migrant community that seeks to cross the country to reach the north of Mexicolike Venezuelan Inesta Pérez, who left her country in a group of five children and nine adults.

The migrant told EFE that the journey in Mexico is difficult and the most complicated thing is crossing the Central American countrieswhere they have suffered from insecurity, because they have been robbed.

“Too hard, the goal is to get to USA for the diagnosis of the child (son), that he can be seen by an oncologist. We go hand in hand with Jehovah. It is not easy, we only ask the Mexican authorities to support us in entering the United States,” he said.

For Luis Rey García Villagrán, director of the Center for Human Dignity (CDH), in the area where They dispute the territory the posters there is no border that divides countries and it has generated a serious climate of insecurity.

“There is no border, the displaced are not 400, Mr. President of Guatemala, Mr. President of Mexico, they are not 200, they are thousands of displacedthat is the effect of having a government that is conniving, useless, non-existent,” he criticized. migrant defender.