Official documents from the Chiapas Secretariat of Education confirm that there have been no classes in Fracción Tzanembolom since February 2024; the community “hasn’t been served because the locality is the epicenter of social conflict.” Over a period of nearly three years, the National Guard has reported 2,967 patrols in the municipality without a single arrest or weapon seizure.
Nearly one hundred children enrolled in the primary school in Fracción Tzanembolom, in the municipality of Chenalhó, haven’t received a single day of classes since February 2024. This is the same Tsotsil community where, on October 5, families reported that an armed group was forcing their children to use drugs.
This information is contained in documents provided by the Chiapas Secretariat of Education in response to a freedom-of-information request. The reports date the suspension of classes to February 12, 2024, when Prudencio Pérez Pérez—a leader and former member of the education committee—was killed in an attack. From that day on, teaching activities didn’t resume for the remainder of the 2023–2024 school year.
Regarding the 2025–2026 school year, the report from the administration of the “Amado Nervo” Bilingual Primary School states that “children from the Fracción Tzanembolom community were not served due to a lack of educational facilities.” Regarding the current school year, it states that “they are not being served.” The school has four teachers assigned to 101 children across five grade levels, yet they have been unable to provide instruction; officially, there is no venue where classes can be held.
According to the same report, residents of Centro Tzanembolom—a community neighboring Fracción Tzanembolom—were displaced in 2024 “as the level of violence involving Fracción Tzanembolom escalated,” notes the document provided by the Secretariat of Education. A total of 267 people were forced to flee the community after refusing to submit to an armed group that residents of both communities link to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The school zone supervisor for the region explicitly stated that students from Fracción Tzanembolom—the location where families report that armed individuals force children to consume drugs—”have not been able to receive services because the locality is the epicenter of the social conflict,” the report notes.
Other official documents from institutions such as the Secretariat of Civil Protection attribute the forced displacement of these families to “social conflicts.”
According to documentation obtained by this news outlet, the supervisor reported that efforts to resume classes have been “futile.” On August 21 of this year, Nicolás Gonzales Ruiz, the government delegate for the Tseltal-Tsotsil region, announced that there would be follow-up. “To date, no one has contacted us,” states the report, which is dated September 22.
Patrols without arrests
During the period from February 2024 to the present, the National Guard has reported a constant presence in the municipality, yet without results. In response to a separate information request (official document GN/UAJT/UT/2497/2026, dated October 8), the agency reported conducting 2,967 motorized patrols in Chenalhó between January 2024 and September 15, 2026.
During that timeframe, the National Guard recorded zero arrests and the seizure of no weapons, ammunition, vehicles, or illicit substances. It further stated that it “has no record or document” regarding the situation in Centro Tzanembolom and Fracción Tzanembolom, even though the search included its General Directorate of Intelligence. The government’s response
The Chiapas government’s response to the complaint—alleging that families in Fracción Tzanembolom were besieged, forced to provide funds to buy ammunition, and compelled to have their children consume drugs—began with a video recorded at the C5 offices in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The Secretariat General of Government and Mediation released the video on Facebook on the afternoon of October 8. The Secretary General of Government, Enrique Hernández Bielma, stated that action would be taken “should social peace be violated.”
The Secretary of Public Security, Óscar Aparicio Avendaño, announced the deployment of 200 officers from the “Pakal” Immediate Reaction Force, the use of a drone, and Black Hawk helicopter flyovers, asserting that “calm prevails today” in the area.
During a live broadcast, the area commander reported “no incidents” from the junction separating Pantelhó and Chenalhó.
A day later, the Government Secretariat released a video showing one man and four women; the man states, “We have come to seek justice because we do not want trouble; we are victims,” and they express their gratitude to the authorities. This video was filmed at the entrance to the Executive Branch offices in the Chiapas state capital. It is accompanied by other footage showing the individuals receiving a blue backpack.
The video is accompanied by a message stating: “The individuals assisted clarified that they did not pay any levies nor were they victims of kidnapping, thereby clarifying some of the information that had previously circulated on social media.”
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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