Around 63 people who are part of the ejidal delegation from Altamirano, Chiapas, and who had gone to Tuxtla Gutiérrez for a meeting with state government authorities, were kidnapped by an armed group as they were returning to their homes on Tuesday, October 10th.
Members of the Ejidal council and municipal delegation from this municipality were traveling in Urvan-type vehicles they had hired. They were intercepted near the Mendoza crossroads, on the Chanal-Altamirano stretch, very close to the municipal center.
Jorge Cruz Pineda, the subsecretary of the Chiapas government, confirmed the kidnapping in a radio interview with journalist Azucena Uresti, stating that it was a political issue: “We assisted people from Altamirano and agreed to sit down with both groups on Friday to try to resolve their differences.”
“We estimate around 60 people kidnapped; 14 were released in the early hours, and later, another was released, leaving 45 still hostage,” said the official.
The State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), through the Indigenous Justice Division, began registering assistance for the detained Ejidal Council of Altamirano. Additionally, the Municipal Council reported that the Army, National Guard, and state police forces had arrived in the town to carry out surveillance activities.
It is worth noting that, following the kidnapping, Altamirano residents blocked a road to pressure authorities into initiating a search for their comrades. However, they cleared the communication route after 6:00 PM when subsecretary Cruz Pineda reached an agreement with residents and authorities.
The conflict in Altamirano has its roots in the municipal administration during the 2019-2021 period, under the leadership of Roberto Pinto Kanter, a member of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico. During that time, the Pinto Kanter family was accused of taking control of the municipal presidency, and they were labeled as political bosses since the brothers Amílcar, Jorge, and Roberto successively assumed the position of mayor under the banner of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Tensions escalated when Roberto’s wife, Gabriela Roque Tipacamú, won the 2021 elections and took office on October 1 of that year. However, her tenure was hindered by regional tensions. The ejido members themselves engaged in acts of vandalism in the Municipal Presidency, and on September 29, they detained the former mayor.
Gabriela Roque took office at an alternative location on the night of September 31 but resigned on October 22 after her husband, Pinto Kanter, was arrested and held captive for 21 days.
On October 28, 2021, the LXVIII Legislature of the State Congress appointed a Municipal Council for Altamirano, which assumed its constitutional functions.
After the formation of the Council, the situation seemed to normalize. However, in August, a new conflict erupted when a group calling themselves the “14 de Agosto,” linked to the councilor-syndic Gabriel Montoya, confronted dissatisfied ejido members regarding public works in the region.
Since then, there have been incidents of harassment, house fires, cuts to basic services such as electricity and water, as well as blockades and protests in the municipal center by ejido members demanding the removal of the Municipal Council.
TYT Newsroom
