Chiapas is becoming increasingly unsafe due to conflicts between drug traffickers

More than eight out of ten residents say they are unsafe in Tapachula, the main city on Mexico’s southern border, which has the fifth highest level of insecurity in the country.

The above event takes place amid conflicts between drug cartels, which have driven hundreds of Mexicans to Guatemala.

For the first time in five years, Tapachula is among the five most unsafe municipalities in the country, according to the National Survey of Urban Public Safety (ENSU). Last week, ENSU reported that 84.7% of residents feel unsafe, compared to 59.4% nationwide.

The phenomenon is occurring as rival criminal organizations intensify conflicts along Mexico’s southern border and recruit young people, causing at least 400 Chiapas residents to flee to Guatemala since July, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena said this week.

The situation is worsening as Tapachula becomes the epicenter of migration in Mexico. From January to May, the government registered a record 1.4 million irregular migrants there, an annual increase of about 650%.

Rafael Alegría López, a migrant rights advocate in the region, said on Saturday that the level of insecurity has increased due to the negligence of authorities and because Tapachula, as a border city, is embroiled in a battle between drug and human trafficking cartels.

“We see in many communities, especially in the Sierra region, that they are suffering from the control, the differences and the conflicts between the cartels, which has forced the relocation of many families, many Chiapanecos, to the neighboring country. It fills us with sadness and uncertainty,” he said.

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TYT News Desk

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