CHIAPAS

Virtual Truth Commission

A. Backround on Chiapas

Location and population: Mexico's Pacific coastline states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero are home to many of Mexico's indigenous Indian people.

Handicrafts:

Privatization of communal lands: Background on this province in Mexico

Additional Chiapas information

Community, we were discovering, was what this trouble was all about. The indigenous place community above all other considerations like wealth, possessions, the so-called "hallmarks of success". For the Mayan, to live in a house larger and grander than one's neighbor's is a matter for shame, not pride. On the other hand, those who would aggrandize the Mayan lands into large, highly productive tracts, hew to a standard much more familiar to us gringos - the person with the most toys, wins. The conflict came down to a simple set of equations: A subsistence economy based on community and respect for individuals versus a money economy based on production standards with respect for the bottom line. Wilson M. Powell ; 5/7/98. Email Veterans for Peace

Official Government Page, in Spanish. Chiapas - Gobierno del Estado

B. Atrocities

1. Description of Acteal Massacre

The Mexican news agency APRO reported on December 25th that "An important detachment, composed of members of the [Mexican Army] Airborne Special Forces Groups (GAFE) was sent to the community of Acteal, in the municipality of Chenalho, where this past Monday "a paramilitary group linked to the PRI" carried out the biggest massacre in recent years in Chiapas, leaving a total of 46 dead and 25 wounded, the majority being women and children. The soldiers of the GAFE, experts in counterinsurgency and specialized in operating in rough terrain as can be found in Chiapas, immediately set up three roadblocks on the highway that leads from the Chenalho to Acteal in order to meticulously search all vehicles which passed through the troubled area." Christmas eve 1997 massacre.

"We are known as the Abejas, the Bees. Some of those driving us out were our sons and brothers. We have no arms. We believe in peace and justice...We are not armed. Why is the army here?"...When the 22nd [of December, 1997] came, many companeros had left. It started at 11:30 AM. They had a plan how to enter. They knew where we were. They surrounded us and opened fire. "And there," he pointed to a steep-sided gully, crossed by woods paths, encircled by jungle green, " my brothers and sisters, forty-five companeros died, and the government did nothing to help." "They knew we were here. The killed were two days into praying and fasting when they died hungry, with hands together praying for peace. "I will add; our arms are the bible, the word of God. We pray for this to end. We have asked the government to investigate all things. The government does nothing. We cannot even retrieve our crops." Wilson M. Powell ; 5/7/98. Email Veterans for Peace

2. Explanations and Negotiations

Senor Paciencia launched right into what had probably become a standard speech: "There are 7,533 displaced people in and around Polho. The Abejas (the Bees), a religious, pacifist group, represent 2,800. From May 24 through November, 12 people have been murdered. Then the Acteal murders (45) on December 22. "From December 26, 30 more people came here to Polho. There are 8 camps in Poconichian and Acteal and one more in Xoyep. Thanks to the NGOs, we have some food and shelter, but not enough. "The Army and the government, all PRI, are organizing against us in Chenalho. The army harasses us. They come to the center, here, (he spread his hands to include where we were seated) to ask the names of men and women. The women resist them. The army surrounds each community. "The paramilitaries organize for money. We know how many there are and how they are armed. The Army and the Public Security Police (State Police) supply them arms and uniforms. We invited the International Red Cross to observe and report the situation. The government prohibited them from coming, saying they are helping the EZLN. That's not true. Wilson M. Powell ; 5/7/98. Email Veterans for Peace

Mexican Government Peace Efforts Source: Onecimo Hidalgo Center of Economic and Political Investigations for Community Action, Chiapas, Mexico (June 25, 1998), "Zero Possibilities for the Return of the Displaced," TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH BY irlandesa FOR CIEPAC AND NUEVO AMANECER PRESS, Special Bulletin, Sun, 28 Jun 1998, CIEPAC (email to ciepac@laneta.apc.org, via A-INFOS NEWS SERVICE

On June 25 members of the civil society "Las Abejas," (The Bees) of Chenalho, who have been displaced since September 21, 1997 in the camps of X'oyep (735 persons) and in the hospices of San Cristobal (115 persons), should have returned to their communities of origin (Miguel Utrilla, Los Chorros and Yibeljoj). They were not able to do so because The Advance Commission for the return told them that the day before PRI members in the communities of Chenalho had been arming themselves (22 persons), together with the municipal president and officials from the Department of Services for the Indian Peoples (SEAPI) of the State Government. They met in Los Chorros in order to decide what they were going to do, given the refusal to allow them to return. In addition, paramilitaries in Chimix (a community close to Acteal, location of the December 22 massacre) had been firing their weapons since the day before, according to the same Commission.
The Advance Commission reported that the PRI members of Chenalho, headed by the interim municipal president, Pedro Mariano Arias Perez, had been thinking of conditioning the return on their signing a document, in which they would urge the release of the 96 paramilitaries imprisoned in the Cerro Hueco jail, who had been responsible for the Acteal massacre; and also that those returning would affiliate themselves with the PRI and cooperate in the support of the imprisoned paramilitaries.
For their part, Las Abejas denounced that the paramilitary's plan was to detain Bishop Samuel Ruiz (it had been announced that he would officiate at a mass in Los Chorros) and then exchange him for the jailed paramilitaries. Facing this, indigenous leader Antonio Vazquez said "we aren't going to put Father Samuel at risk." The displaced persons had been gathering up the few belongings they had in the camp since the day before, and, at 4 in the morning on the 25th, they began walking from X'oyep to Yabteclum, where they were going to meet the other group coming from San Cristobal, which was waiting for them so they could walk together to their communities of origin.
They only got as far as the crossroads at Majomut, the turnoff for the communities of Yibeljoj and Los Chorros. There they gave a press conference in order to denounce the plan which the paramilitaries had prepared and, under the circumstances, they preferred not to return, and they urged the government to punish the paramilitaries (they read a list of 22 persons who were armed and continuing to harass them). Then they returned to their respective camps.
The caravan of 850 displaced persons was accompanied by members of the Mexican Red Cross and the International Red Cross, persons from Project Echo of the European Union, NGOs, persons from international solidarity and some 30 members of the national and international press, who were covering the event. However, on the same day the return should have taken place, the municipal president of Chenalho spoke to the news program at 2:30 PM on the radio station XEWM, by telephone from Los Chorros, claiming that the conditions were set for the return of the displaced, and they were waiting for them with music and food, and he did not understand why the civil society had not arrived.
Background On June 17, the governor of the state, Roberto Albores Guillen, called together 61 rural agents in order to sign the "State Agreement for Political Stability and Community Reconciliation in Chenalho," claiming that the conditions and guarantees for the return were set. From that day until today, the governor has repeated the same thing, on radio and television. However, the facts demonstrate the opposite.
On the 19th, the Abejas responded through a communique, saying that they were not willing to receive aid nor support from the government, as long as the PRI and Cardenista paramilitaries remained free. If they wanted to help, then the government should jail the paramilitaries who were still harassing them. The Abejas stated that they wanted to return in order to work peacefully for the opposition in the upcoming October 4 elections, and to prevent the PRI candidate, a paramilitary, from assuming power.
At the end of the press conference on the 25th, Las Abejas called on national and international civil society to abandon them, the conditions in the camps continue to be difficult, lacking food, medicine, clothes, supplies, and their conditions needed to be improved. They affirmed that during the 7 months they had been in the camp, 20 babies had been born and several people had died, because health conditions were worsening. The latrines are badly made and, if they lasted another two months, they will be out of water, among other things which they mentioned.

3. Personal Narratives

"I have an older sister who was shot in Acteal. She was pregnant. When she died, I personally saw how they opened her stomach to cut out the baby. They also shot my sister--in--law and took her body into the ravine. I am worried and very sad because my sister and sister--in--law died. They weren't doing anything. They were innocent. I also have other family members among the 45 who were killed. The killers are PRI--ista groups who were armed and all of them, the paramilitaries, got away." --Woman survivor of Acteal, Testimonies collected by the Bridge of Hope Caravan Polhó, Chenalhó -- Zapatista Autonomous Municipality Chiapas, Mexico, December 30, 1997

C. United States Involvement

1. Training at the School of the Americas

Among the SOA Graduates from Mexico there were some SOA Graduates who were specifically involved in military activities at Chiapas.

Additional information at the School of the Americas Watch.

Mexico/Chiapas page of Coalition for Justice

See Virtual Truth Commission pages for Mexico, the School of the Americas, Advocates and Opponents of the School of the Americas, and Seven Reasons to Close the School of the Americas.

2. Other Training provided by the U. S.

Six Korean and Vietnam War veterans from Veterans for Peace recently completed an eight-month investigation which concludes that the US "is sliding dangerously down a tragic slope of intervention" in Mexico. They reported that US government training of Mexican military officers is intended to aid the counterinsurgency operations, and that up to 3,200 Mexican officers will attend US military courses in fiscal 1998-99. Dale Wimberley, What Is At Stake in Chiapas: Cecilia Rodriguez Speaks in Blacksburg,¡Presente! May/June 1998

See Virtual Truth Commission page for Mexico for added notation of training for Mexican military at multiple U. S. locations.

3. Provision of intelligence by U. S. to Mexico regarding Chiapas

Veterans for Peace leader Brian Willson states that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is supplying the Mexican military with satellite intelligence on Chiapas, while the FBI is training police from Chiapas and other states. Dale Wimberley, What Is At Stake in Chiapas: Cecilia Rodriguez Speaks in Blacksburg,¡Presente! May/June 1998

4. Provision of war materiel by U. S. to Mexico used in Chiapas

PRD Representative Gilberto Lopez y Rivas brought to the Mexican Permanent Commission of Congress a report by Brian Willson, a US Vietnam Veteran, called "Slippery Slope: The US Military Intervention in the Chiapas Conflict." The report contains data, names, and facts regarding US involvement in Chiapas detailing use of US arms, FBI and CIA counterinsurgency intelligence, the training of paramilitary groups, and use of infrared technology and Condor helicopters to detect ... insurgency camps. The President of the Senate Defense Commission, Alvaro Vallarto, declared that there is nothing hidden about US military training of Mexican troops and that the Zapatistas too use US arms. "Report Detailing US Involvement in Chiapas Discussed in Mexican Congress," in Mexico Update #179, June 25, 1998, produced by Equipo Pueblo. Email to pueblodip@laneta.apc.org

5. Provision of American advisors to Mexican military in Chiapas

It is now known that prior to the Mexican army's February 9, 1995 invasion into and occupation of the Zapatista communities, U. S. intelligence services actively assisted in determining the alleged identity of Zapatista leader Subcommandante Marcos...There have been reports, thoughas yet unconfirmed by the sometimes less than vigilant U. S. presss, of U. S. advisors present in Chiapas. A Major John Kevin Kord and Lt. Col Alan Hassan Sanchez were identified by a Chaipas news organ, El Norte, FEb 12, 1995. A U. S. Lt. Col. Propp was identified as part of a covert operating unit by La Brecha de Uruguay (Oct 28, 1995), which also alleges that the U. S. Army is acting as intermediary in bringing Argentinean mercenaries to work with paramilitary groups in Chiapas. Zapatista commanders have reported sightings of men working with the Mexican military and paramilitary groups who wear U. S. military insignia. In September 1996, the Mexican daily, El Financiero, obtained 264 secret documents from the Pentagon under the FOIA. These files disclosed that Mexico has been receiving support from military advisors from the United States, Guatemala, Argentina, and Israel in its efforts to repress the active indigenous organizations and their solidarity networks. S. Brian Willson, The Slippery Slope: U. S. Military Moves into Mexico, Section I: United States Militarization of Mexico

6. Counterinsurgency Training and Paramilitaries

The December 22, 1997, massacre at Acteal, Chiapas was "a predictable outcome of Mexican President Zedillo's strong military and counterinsurgency/paramilitary policy...U. S. military officials had promised extensive counterinsurgency training from 1996 - 1999 so that the Mexican army would become fully capable of sophisticated jungle warfare. Meanwhile, emergence of the paramilitary groups recruited, trained and armed by members of the Mexican military began to operate their terror campaign protected by the army which was located in numerous camps and convoys ina nd around virtually every Indigenous community. S. Brian Willson, The Slippery Slope: U. S. Military Moves into Mexico, Section IV: Militarization and Repression in Mexico

PRD Representative Gilberto Lopez y Rivas brought to the Mexican Permanent Commission of Congress a report by Brian Willson, a US Vietnam Veteran, called "Slippery Slope: The US Military Intervention in the Chiapas Conflict." The report contains data, names, and facts regarding US involvement in Chiapas detailing use of US arms, FBI and CIA counterinsurgency intelligence, the training of paramilitary groups, and use of infrared technology and Condor helicopters to detect ... insurgency camps. The President of the Senate Defense Commission, Alvaro Vallarto, declared that there is nothing hidden about US military training of Mexican troops and that the Zapatistas too use US arms. "Report Detailing US Involvement in Chiapas Discussed in Mexican Congress," in Mexico Update #179, June 25, 1998, produced by Equipo Pueblo. Email to pueblodip@laneta.apc.org

October 1994. After consultation with American leaders, Mexican Defense Ministry creates "Chiapas 94", a comprehensive counterinsurgencyplan that included creation of paramilitary groups, the 'neutralizing' of the Zapatistas, censorship of the media, and muting any effects of human rights groups and NGOs. Extensive training of Mexicans at School of the Americas, Fort Benning, and Counterinsurgency School, Fort Bragg, follows. S. Brian Willson, The Slippery Slope: U. S. Military Moves into Mexico, Section IV: Militarization and Repression in Mexico

In August 1998, Garance Burke wrote in El Financiero International (Vol 8, No. 7) an account entitled "U.S. Army War College Professor Tells of Counterinsurgency Trainings and `Private Diplomacy'"

7. Misuse of U. S. War on Drugs resources for Chiapas Counterinsurgency

PRD Representative Gilberto Lopez y Rivas brought to the Mexican Permanent Commission of Congress a report by Brian Willson, a US Vietnam Veteran, called "Slippery Slope: The US Military Intervention in the Chiapas Conflict." He alluded to the higher levels of cooperation reached in 1995 by the Pentagon and Sedena (secretariat of defense) to fight the "war on drugs" and declared that the militarized struggle against drug trafficking has been a political excuse to increase Mexican military activity in the counterinsurgency campaign in Chiapas. He called for an immediate investigation of the claims made by Willson (La Jornada, June 25). "Report Detailing US Involvement in Chiapas Discussed in Mexican Congress," in Mexico Update #179, June 25, 1998, produced by Equipo Pueblo. Email to pueblodip@laneta.apc.org

1995. Mexican President Zedillo requests sophisticaed array of U. S. military equipment to reinforce capacities of the army, allegedly for the drug war. However, drug training and military equipment are equally applicable to counterinsurgency operations. S. Brian Willson, The Slippery Slope: U. S. Military Moves into Mexico, Section IV: Militarization and Repression in Mexico

D. Responses

1. Investigations

June, 1998.

A group "headed by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, [whose congressional district is about 50 percent Mexican-American] and Rep. Bobby Rush, will spend four days meeting with Mexican officials and leaders of the Zapatista rebels. The Chicagoans plan to present their findings to Congress and to Chicago's Mexican-American community when they return." Other members of the group included "12 other local leaders, including State Sen. Jesus Garcia (D-Chicago), State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) and members of the Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, which is sponsoring the mission. The church held a prayer service Sunday to offer encouragement to the group."
The Mexican government already has rejected U.S. pressure and has expelled numerous foreigners, saying they are meddling in a domestic issues. In fact, Mexican officials offered a chilly response to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's recent remarks pressing Mexico to resolve the dispute. Rush said he respects the "sovereignty of the Mexican government" but said he was persuaded to venture to Chiapas by the pleas of Chicago's Mexican-American community. "The Mexican-American community here, and in the entire nation, has a deep, deep interest in possible human rights violations in Chiapas, and I believe it is incumbent upon us as elected officials to look into it," Rush said while attending the prayer service. "We intend to find out about human rights violations and we intend to encourage the parties to . . . settle this conflict." Stephanie Banchero, , "Rush, Gutierrez Heading a Chicago Mision to Chiapas", C hicago Tribune, June 29, 1998

2. A Statement in Poetry:

Maya Death in Chiapas
by Jeeni Criscenzo

She prayed with the other women in the church,
in this makeshift place that is not home,
this place that offers nothing except a respite from terror,
from the thugs who have burned and raped and murdered
the thugs who waited and watched while the coffee plants grew,
watched the Maya farmers tend their delicate plants,
watched the coffee prices rise,
watched her belly grow round with child while she worked in the field.

She prayed with the barefoot mothers and children,
her man missing, like many others,
held at gunpoint to harvest his crop for thieves,
for the PRI-istas who loaded trucks with their plundered harvest,
the PRI-istas who have pillaged their future,
stolen the fruits of months of toil,
stolen their only hope for survival in the coming year,
stolen their strength to resist enslavement.

She prayed with the shivering refugees,
beseeching her ancestors and saints with prayer,
to protect those hiding in the forest who have taken up their cause,
to defeat a government who strategically arms their enemies,
those pariah who call no one mother and father,
those wild ones who have given their souls to the PRI,
forsaken their heritage for the awe a weapon wields,
forsaken their ancestors for the bandit's life,
forsaken their community for the promises of thieves.

She prayed with her fellow Maya near Acteal, Chiapas,
three days before the celebration of Christmas,
while warm, well-fed children in far away places prayed for toys,
she turned to the deadly hack of fifty government issue AK-47s
aimed at a church full of unarmed people,
she turned from the hail of machine gun fire
set on a community of helpless victims,
she ran for the cover of bushes by the river,
ran from a barrage of bullets named "politics" and "greed",
ran for the futile chance her unborn child would survive.

But she could not run faster than their bullets.

She laid on the ground with the other bodies.
Her blood-soaked huipil could not conceal
that her attacker was not satisfied to gun her down with forty-four other innocents.
Her eyes wide with death watched the vermin as he thrust his machete into her womb.
The last thought to move through her mind, a question:
"What threat was this infant to your PRI? Jacinto Arias Cruz?"
"What threat was this infant to your PRI? Licenciado Julio Cesar Ruiz Ferro?"
"What threat was this infant to your PRI? President Zedillo?"

Copyright 1998 Jeeni Criscenzo, who welcomes your feedback. "Words are my weapon against this terrible injustice. If the preceding poem moves you, copy it and pass it along so that people everwhere will understand what is really happening in Mexico. This is NOT a "family feud" - this is strategic genocide of the Maya people!" Permission is given to reprint and pass along this poem in any media with this copyright notice and permission included.

3. Resources and Opportunities
as happened May 16-26 with visits to three "Aguascalientes" -- Chiapas Media Project.
Sponsor a human rights observer inChiapas, as Howard County Friends of Latin America's Chiapas Project is doing!
Participate in Peace Brigades International (PBI) which currently has has long term projects in Guatemala, Sri Lanka, North America, Colombia, and Haiti, as well as joint projects with other organizations in Chiapas and the Balkans. To put it simply, Peace Brigades International serves as an on the spot representative of the combined international human rights pressure, as represented by many individuals and organizations.
Provide Texozomoc
Add the The New Humans Homepage to send email to President Clinton, President Zedillo and Prime Minister Chretien concerning the war in Chiapas.
Visit other links to discover more of Chiapas Links
Police attack journalists -- photos

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Updated April 11, 1999