Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed gratitude towards Guatemala for assisting nearly 600 Mexicans who sought refuge in Guatemala to escape drug cartel violence. The refugees, including men, women, children, and elderly, fled violence in the Mexican state of Chiapas, where shootouts and cartel activities had created a dangerous environment.
President López Obrador acknowledged that conflicts exist in various parts of the world, including Mexico, but downplayed the severity of the situation. He emphasized that his government's adversaries aim to portray Mexico as unstable and plagued by violence, which he refuted by stating that the National Guard would secure the affected area and resolve the situation promptly.
On the Guatemalan side, President Bernardo Arévalo pledged to coordinate a humanitarian response to assist the Mexican refugees escaping conflicts between rival groups in Chiapas. However, the response from the Mexican authorities was delayed until Friday, when they finally addressed the situation.
The violence in Chiapas, attributed to clashes between two powerful cartels from Sinaloa and Jalisco vying for control of smuggling routes, has led to multiple displacements in the region. In June, around 5,000 individuals were displaced due to violence in another part of Chiapas, while in September last year, cartels disrupted electrical power in towns near the Guatemala border, hindering government efforts to restore services.
