Mexico and Guatemala agreed this Friday to carry out joint security operations on its border after hundreds of Mexicans recently fled to the neighboring country for fear that violent organized crime cartels that dominate the area would recruit their children.
“The two countries agreed to carry out simultaneous operations, both land and air, on both sides of the border, maintain permanent communication mechanisms and convene a high-level meeting of the High Level Security Group Mexico-Guatemala“the two governments said in a joint statement.
The agreement was reached after a binational meeting between the foreign ministers and security and migration officials.
Since July 23, some 400 Mexicans have fled from the border town of Amatenango (state of Chiapas, south) escaping criminal violence.
Some 207 people remain in the Guatemalan municipality of Cuilco, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena said earlier.
“What has worried these families most is that They have started recruiting young people (…), that is why they have crossed” the border, said the chancellor during the usual press conference of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
He added that forced recruitment occurs in the context of “constant clashes” between two criminal gangs.
According to the Insight Crime analysis centre, this is abouts cartels of Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation, who are fighting for control of neighboring towns that are key to drug, arms, and migrant trafficking that crosses Mexico to reach the United States.
Bárcena said that the 207 people who are in Cuilco received a certificate of humanitarian stay for 30 days from the Guatemalan government, while 61 have returned to their homes.
The rest are in neighboring towns or come and go across the border to protect their assets on the Mexican side.
The foreign minister explained that Mexican authorities offered to transfer the displaced to a shelter in the city of Tapachula, but most preferred to stay in Cuilco due to its proximity to their communities.
Mexico also committed to implementing a plan for Amatenango consisting of social programs and support, as well as health care in the affected communities, “which will increase the presence of Mexican army forces in the area,” the statement said.
