Leaders of Mexico’s Catholic Church in the south have pleaded with the government to intervene on behalf of their people to help stop drug cartels from the violence the community endures at the hands of the drug cartels. They say the gangs demand “protection payments” and use their people as human shields. This terror is happening along the country’s border with Guatemala.
Bishop Emeritus Jaime Calderón of the Tapachula Diocese, which has parishes along the Guatemalan border, signed the letter dated Wednesday. Earlier this week, hundreds of individuals fled the town out of fear.
Sinaloa and Jalisco, two of Mexico’s most powerful cartels, have been at war for over a year over control of the region’s smuggling routes, forcing countless people to flee their homes.
According to a Guatemalan official report, the refugees recounted how they had fled their homes due to insufficient food supplies and conflicts between criminal organizations. They reached the Cuilco municipality’s villages on Tuesday. The 580 people included men, women, children, and the elderly.
The diocese’s letter says the cartels are taking hostages in their communities; they are forced to pay extortion and forced to take shifts, and man the roadblocks that the cartels have erected. This only adds to the misery that already besets impoverished and neglected areas by the government.
Shopkeepers are also victims of extortion, forcing residents to spend their meager funds on the limited amount of food that is sold at exorbitant costs.
The letter doesn’t mention the Guatemalan refugees by name, but it does state that the Mexican military and National Guard are there but don’t do anything to defend the towns.
The diocese has asked what they can do or say to ensure that the government fulfills its responsibility to safeguard and monitor the safety of its communities.
