Organized crime forces young people aged 15 and older who live in the southern border regions between Chiapas and Guatemala to join its ranks in exchange for keeping them and their families alive, according to Victor Hugo Lopez, executive secretary of the Red Todos los Derechos para Todas y Todos (TDT) (All Rights for All) Network.
In an interview with Azucena Uresti for Fórmula Noticias, Lopez Rodriguez considered that the Federal Government has acted “lukewarm, distant, indifferent” to the displacement of Chiapas residents as a result of rivalry between criminal groups, who seek to strengthen themselves by recruiting young people from the time they are minors.
“They are young people, aged 15 and older, they generally go for the boys. They go to the towns and the instruction is that all boys aged 15 have to serve, support the actions of organized crime or they leave or die, there is no other option,” he said.
According to the civil organization, at least 50 percent of the youth from the regions of Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Paso Hondo, Portal and Nuevo México in the Comalapa Border have been recruited by criminal groups.
In light of this, the NGO asked the Federal Government to take the corresponding actions, within the framework of its international obligations, to safeguard the lives and integrity of the people who are still on the southern border of the country, since, at the end of last month, the displacement of at least 600 people from Chiapas to Guatemala was recorded.
After the displacement of the people from Chiapas, the Catholic Church accused the National Guard and the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) of acting in an “indifferent” manner in the face of the violence that is hitting the state.
Government to address crisis in Chiapas with social programs
On July 2, after a meeting with Guatemalan authorities, Secretary of the Interior Luisa María Alcalde reported that a comprehensive plan of care focused on Amatenango de la Frontera will be promoted, through social programs, health care and the deployment of a welfare market with social support for the affected communities.
In addition, a mobile kitchen from the Sedena will be moved to the municipality of Cuilco to contribute to the care of Mexicans temporarily located in Huehuetenango. Also, the Army will increase the presence of “law enforcement” on the border between Chiapas and Guatemala.
Source: radioformula
