After the clashes on the border between Mexico and Guatemala between organized crime groups, which left one civilian dead and a Guatemalan soldier injured, businessmen from the region and civil organizations called on federal authorities and the state of Chiapas on Tuesday to “shield” the area with security elements.
The president of the Pro-center organization of merchants and businessmen in the center of Tapachula, César García Jiménez, asked that security be “protected and reinforced” in the border area, in the face of the fight by the cartels that are causing fear among the inhabitants of southern Mexico.
“We need more military and federal presence on our side (Mexico), our southern border is very porous, it is very easy to cross and that also means that bad guys can enter here into Chiapas,” García Jiménez told EFE from the largest city on Mexico’s southern border.
In this sense, he warned that the climate of insecurity in the area has reduced the arrival of Guatemalan visitors by up to 30%, a situation that puts Mexican businessmen in the red, especially in the month of December where they expected an economic recovery.
Meanwhile, the president of the National Chamber of Industry and Transformation (Canacintra), Abel Méndez Ruiz, expressed his concern because, he said, the border “is neglected” and there is no authority to protect it.
“If we really need more care of the border (…) that there be more control, more operations and security so that Tapachula once again has control as it had before and that there is good security coordination,” he indicated.
Alfredo de la Cruz Cordero, representative of the New Generation Social Linkage Association, spoke in the same sense, demanding that a “cleanup” be carried out.
“We want you to pay special attention to everything from Soconusco to the border of Guatemala, it is necessary and urgent because it is a 100% productive area and as long as it is not taken care of (…) it is a very rich area where there are people who are working for greater production for this area,” he stressed.
For this reason, the leader of this civil association on the southern border of Mexico considered it necessary to open working groups in response to the situation, “less speeches and more action are required for the protection of citizens.”
This call from business and civil organizations comes after the armed confrontation recorded in the community of Agua Zarca, in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango, was reported on December 8, an attack attributed to organized crime groups that operate on both sides of the border.
The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico, Omar García Harfuch, confirmed on December 9 that, since then, there has been an exchange of information with the Guatemalan authorities and that units of the Mexican Army were deployed in the border area to reinforce surveillance and support reconnaissance efforts.
According to information from the Mexican Security Cabinet, at least two organizations operate in the region: a cell linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and another identified as the Chiapas–Guatemala Cartel, which are fighting for control of the area.
The incident occurs in a context of growing tension in the border region between Mexico and Guatemala, where this year there has been an increase in episodes of violence associated with drug and human trafficking.
With information from EFE.
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