At the end of the Corpus Christi celebrations and when some of the pilgrims were still entering the church of San Mateo, in Tila, Chiapas, men with long weapons, in white vehicles and aboard army cars, started firing shots into the air on June 4 in this Chiapas municipality bordering Tabasco.
Three days later, those same gunmen killed residents, burned houses and businesses, raped women, and forced the displacement of more than five thousand people belonging to the Chol indigenous ethnic group.
The trucks with gunmen on board lined up one after another during the first days of violence as if to show power, says a now displaced resident who arrived in the town of Yajalón, Chiapas; in search of shelter.
#Chiapas Estas son las condiciones en las que llegan a buscar refugio los pobladores que huyen de la violencia y la inseguridad en #TILA.
— Isaín Mandujano (@isain) June 7, 2024
A falta de espacios adecuados ante este desplazamiento forzado, las familias las dejaron en el fútbol rápido de #Yajalón. pic.twitter.com/l8ycmw3bJS
Some of the hooded men had radios on their waists, in which they received the names of the people they were supposed to kill, said displaced people from Tila, a municipality located about 230 kilometers from the state capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez.
In broad daylight, the armed men who days before stole the weapons and the Army vehicles took the town’s loudspeakers and shouted that all young people had to come to them to join the criminal group.
After several hours, many of the now displaced residents who spoke to the local press said they were held captive, even in one house there were up to four families.
En #Tila la #FuerzaDeTarea de 500 elementos que llegó ayer a la cabecera del municipio #Chol de #Chiapas recibió hoy refuerzos de @SEDENAmx. La #IglesiaCatólica y #ONGs solicitan apoyo para atender a #Desplazados en #Yajalón y #Petalcingo. Sigue la incertidumbre en la población pic.twitter.com/80iXF4bMgg
— Gabriela Coutiño (@GabyCoutino) June 9, 2024
No one wants to return to Tila under the conditions of what appears to be drug cartel violence.
The displacement began last week and until Monday, June 10th, victims continued to arrive. Mary is one of them, a hunch told her that from the first days of violence, she should bathe her two dogs so that when they left the town the animals would be clean.
This shelter, located half an hour from Tila, not only receives clothing, but also food, water, and dog food.
Doctors who treat the displaced persons say that most of the residents of Tila suffer from nervous breakdowns, anxiety, sadness, depression, diarrhea, and respiratory illnesses.
TYT Newsroom
