Chiapas families report alleged CJNG-linked control in Chenalhó
Original reporting: Infobae México
What happened
Fifteen Tsotsil families in Chenalhó allege armed-group control, extortion and pressure on minors, while citing continued displacement and poverty in the municipality.
Reporting and context
Fifteen Tsotsil families in Fracción Tzanembolom, in Chenalhó, Chiapas, say an armed group they identify as linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) controls their community, demands payments for ammunition and pressures children and young people to use drugs. The allegations were circulated in a video and a statement addressed to Mexico's federal, state and municipal governments. Infobae México reported that the families say anyone trying to leave must pay a 1,500-peso fine and that the group prevents residents from working.
The families also reported threats, forced sales of property left by displaced residents and the killings of Eleuterio Arias Pérez in October 2025 and a 15-year-old boy whose burial was allegedly not made public. They appealed for protection to Chiapas Governor Eduardo Ramírez, state officials and President Claudia Sheinbaum. According to Infobae México, Ramírez said on Sept. 11 that 95% of displaced people in Chiapas had returned to their communities, while the Tzanembolom account suggests displacement and control remain unresolved there.
Chenalhó had 36,111 residents in the 2010 census; more than 84% were Indigenous and 72% lived in extreme poverty, according to federal data cited by the source. The families also referenced a 2022 displacement in Santa Martha and an alleged Indigenous Civil Army linked by residents to the CJNG and Los Herrera. Their claims about the armed group, the killings and recruitment remain allegations attributed to the families and the reporting source.