Nearly 600 Mexicans have fled across the Mexican border into Guatemala seeking refuge from the drug cartel violenceGuatemalan authorities said Wednesday.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said his administration was coordinating with local governments in Huehuetenango and the municipality of Cuilco to assist Mexicans “fleeing the conflict between groups that is taking place on the Mexican side.”
A government report obtained by The Associated Press He described accounts from refugees who explained that they had left their homes due to lack of food and clashes between organized crime groupsAmong the 580 people were men, women, children and elderly people.
On the Mexican side, the security agency for the state of Chiapas said it had received no reports from the area. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry and National Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mexicans seeking refuge in Guatemala.
Cartels from the northern states of Sinaloa and Jalisco are fighting for territory throughout Mexico. And for more than a year, they have been taking that fight to the Chiapas on its border with Guatemala. They fight to control lucrative drug, immigrant and arms smuggling routes.
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