Eye for an eye law in Chiapas raises tension; 15 of the 60 plagiarists are released

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ.

Tension in Chiapas increased yesterday under the law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

In Altamirano, relatives of the alleged kidnappers of 60 peasants were detained, one day after they disappeared at the hands of armed men linked to the paramilitary group 14 de Agosto.

Last night, 15 of the 60 kidnapped people were released and moved to the municipal seat of Altamirano to reunite with their families.

The peasants kidnapped on Tuesday were part of the commission that traveled to Tuxtla Gutiérrez to talk with government agencies and demand the dismissal of the current council president Gabriel Montoya Oseguera, who is accused of murder.

When they were returning to Altamirano, at the height of the San Cristóbal de las Casas-Altamirano highway section, they were kidnapped.

On Tuesday night they released a group, according to authorities.

In retaliation, the movement against the Municipal Council detained the relatives of the members of the self-defense group 14 de Agosto inside the Altamirano ejidal prison, where – they warned – they will not leave until the kidnapped people are released.

Now they request the intervention of the Mexican Army, the National Guard and the state police.

María, daughter of Feliciano Sántiz Gómez, one of the kidnapped, accused the former ejidal commissioner René of being the main person responsible for what is happening in Altamirano. She said that Gabriel Montoya is a murderer and that he does not compare to former mayor Roberto Pinto Kanter.

“We only want an authority that responds for the people, not an authority that pits people against people, like what is happening right now,” he stated.

Violence has increased in recent days, with road blockades and demonstrations in which the residents of Altamirano demand the departure of municipal officials.

On October 2, an armed group, identified as ejidatarios, related to Rogelio Hernández Gómez, burned more than 26 homes belonging to members of the Altamirano Municipal Council.

The violence unleashed was not limited to residences, but extended to the burning of vehicles, businesses and other property of collaborators and sympathizers of the Municipal Council.

The council president, María García, saw her house consumed by flames.

And it was on Tuesday that the ejidatarios were kidnapped and yesterday their relatives retaliated.

The Indigenous Justice Prosecutor's Office confirmed that the Altamirano ejidatarios remain held in the El Bosque community in the municipality of Huixtán.

He said that he has already started investigations for the crime of Withholding of Individuals.

Twenty people appeared before the Ocosingo Public Ministry to report the incident and accused them of being detained and with them 11 more vehicles.

The complainants reported that yesterday three people and three vehicles were released; They reported that the aggressors demand the freedom of a person who has been held in an ejidal prison in Altamirano for 15 days.

The Undersecretary of the Government of Chiapas, Jorge Cruz Pineda, mentioned that the security forces keep the entrances and exits of the municipal seat of Altamirano protected, in addition to providing attention to the two political groups that are expressing their disagreements.

He explained that there have been different negotiations regarding the issue that has caused this situation, in which one group is in favor and another against the municipal trustee.

“The number of people has been uncertain, it is considered to be approximately 60 people of whom they released 15, who have already moved to the municipality. The Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, the National Guard and the Sedena agreed to reinforce security in the municipal capital,” he said.