One month after Guatemalan authorities acknowledged the massive influx of people fleeing the state of Chiapas, the atmosphere of violence in the border region caused families to abandon their homes once again.
According to reports by journalist Isaín Mandujano, in the early hours of August 25, an armed commando infiltrated the Barrio Reforma community, belonging to the municipality of Bejucal de Ocampo, and killed an as yet undetermined number of residents.
Preliminary versions and public complaints spread on social networks indicate that the number of victims could range between five and ten people shot.
Hours later, approximately 700 residents of Barrio Reforma began to leave their homes due to the risk of becoming victims of organized crime. The aforementioned reporter mentioned that some groups of residents headed to Frontera Comalapa, others moved towards Amatenango del Valle and there were even those who walked to Motozintla, located 33 kilometers away.
This new episode of forced displacement was also recorded in neighboring towns of Bejucal de Ocampo and Amatenango, such as Nuevo Recuerdo, Nueva Victoria and Palestina.
A photograph shared by Mandujano on his X account shows the empty streets of Barrio Reforma after the sudden exodus of families seeking to escape the violence.
The journalist obtained testimonies from residents who claimed to have sought out the municipal president of Bejucal de Ocampo, Onécimo Esaú Santizo Robledo, to request help, but they could not find him.
“They were locating him to help with the coffins [of the victims] and he never answered, because since he has been in power he has only dedicated himself to walking around,” was one of the statements shared with Mandujano.
For its part, the City Council of Motozintla announced that personnel from the Municipal Secretariat of Civil Protection began the necessary work to assist the displaced families who were located on the esplanade of the Central Park.
Groups from Barrio Reforma, Ejido Palestina and Ejido Nueva Victoria were placed in a temporary shelter for children and adolescents accompanied in the context of migration, which is run by the director of the municipal DIF, Karina Alegría Esquinca.
“They are cared for by staff [from the shelter], providing them with food, lodging and medical care. We invite citizens to contribute together and continue supporting in a supportive and humanitarian way the people who need it most,” the Municipal Government of Motozintla stated in a statement.
In this same sense, personnel from Civil Protection of Motozintla installed a module for attention to displaced persons in a gas station at kilometer 1 of highway 211 (Motozintla – Comalapa Border), to carry out a physical examination and monitoring of vital signs for those who require it.
Source: infobae
