Guatemala grants humanitarian visas to 161 Mexicans who fled organized crime

Guatemala granted humanitarian presumption to 161 Mexicans who crossed into that state past week fleeing organized transgression successful Frontera Comalapa, a municipality on the Mexico-Guatemala borderline successful the authorities of Chiapas.

Mostly families, women and children, these individuals were surviving successful rented accommodations, impermanent shelters and relatives’ homes successful the Guatemalan borderline municipality of La Mesilla. 

The Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM) issued humanitarian visas that assistance ineligible residency for 30 days, though the play tin beryllium extended. (IGM/X)

“A full of 39 families were interviewed and received this humanitarian pass, successful summation to receiving inter-institutional assistance successful the section of Huehuetenango,” the Guatemalan Institute of Migration (IGM) said successful a statement.

The walk is typically granted by Guatemala successful cases of humanitarian crises, earthy disasters, oregon convulsive conflicts that enactment lives astatine risk. In this case, it allows the displaced families to reside temporarily successful Guatemala and entree basal services specified arsenic healthcare and education. It was granted for a play of 30 days, with the anticipation of extension.

Guatemalan authorities person provided medical, psychological, nutrient and hygiene assistance to the displaced, arsenic good arsenic inter-institutional information successful the area. 

Meanwhile, Chiapas Governor Eduardo Ramírez denied determination were immoderate forced displacements.

#AsistenciaHumanitaria | El equipo del IGM se encuentra en Huehuetenango, brindando asistencia humanitaria junto a diferentes instituciones y ha otorgado estatus de Permanencia por Razones Humanitarias a las familias mexicanas desplazadas en nuestro país. pic.twitter.com/ght8ABOvlF

— Migración Guatemala (@MigracionGuate) August 21, 2025

On Wednesday, he wrote connected his authoritative X relationship that the radical who fled to Guatemala are not displaced radical but alternatively relatives of alleged criminals, immoderate already detained, who are sheltering successful the neighboring country. He accused organized transgression operating successful Guatemala of wanting to discredit Chiapas’s nationalist information strategy by claiming determination are forced displacements.

“I categorically contradict that,” Ramírez said. 

Despite the governor’s denial of forced displacements, the IGM reports that determination has been “communication connected the issue” with Mexico’s National Migration Institute. Moreover, some Mexico and Guatemala person acknowledged the information situation on their borderline by signing a bid of agreements that see initiatives aimed astatine enhancing information on the borderline successful effect to organized crime.

Why did they person to transverse the border? 

Chiapas, a cardinal nexus to cause trafficking routes to Central America and the United States, is experiencing a fierce conflict betwixt the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel. This convulsive territorial quality has plunged the portion into a question of unit that includes equipped clashes, roadblocks, extortion, and forced recruitment, causing the interior displacement of hundreds of people.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center estimates that successful 2024 alone, immoderate 26,000 radical were forced to permission their homes successful Chiapas, acold surpassing the estimated 11,000 radical that fled the erstwhile year. Many of the displaced are fleeing to Guatemala, arsenic roadblocks imposed by transgression groups forestall them from moving to different regions of the state.

This antithetic travel of Mexicans into Guatemala reverses the accustomed northbound migration way and puts the Central American federation successful the relation of big country, investigating its humanitarian effect capableness and protocols for handling forced displacement crises. 

With reports from El Tiempo, BBC and The Associated Press