The Horror of Violence

ByTlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center

This article by Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center originally appeared in the May 11, 2026 edition of Desinformémonos.

The Nahua communities of the lower mountains of Guerrero have suffered constant violence from criminal groups since 2015. Men, women, girls, boys, and young people have been caught in the crossfire, without the authorities implementing decisive actions to dismantle these organizations that keep the defenseless Indigenous population in a state of horror.

In the absence of authorities, organized crime has imposed its will with bullets and now with drones. Incursions by armed civilians into Indigenous communities are frequent, and what is most serious is that they are ignored by the authorities. The civilians choose to hide in the hills and churches of communities belonging to the Coordinadora Regional de Autoridades Comunitarias-Policía Comunitaria (CRAC-PF) and the Concejo Indígena y Popular de Guerrero – Emiliano Zapata (CIPOG-EZ).

Tragedies go unnoticed by the authorities because they are absent and because, from a distance, the events fade away. People weep from the helplessness of not being helped and because their testimony is not believed. Children take refuge in their mothers’ arms, and the mothers, too, are gripped by the fear of being killed. Their cries are lost in the hills. They are alone, unprotected. That is why their only solace is public denunciation and pleading with the authorities. “We are being attacked with gunfire and armed drones by criminals who advance despite encountering the Army.”

Women and children sought refuge yesterday on a mountaintop in the municipality of Chilapa, Guerrero, due to attacks by Los Ardillos Photo: La Jornada

The latest acts of violence began on May 2nd of this year with the murder of two people from the community of Alcozacán. On Wednesday the 6th, a series of attacks continued against the communities of Tula, Xicotlán, Acahuehuetlán, and Alcozacán, all belonging to the CIPOG-EZ movement. There, Isaías Morales Lucas, Bernardino Hilario Ocotlán, Ernesto Hilario Ocotlán, and Isacar Villalba Rosario, all from the community of Tula, were killed. On May 8th, a woman from the community of Xicotlán was shot and wounded.

At 7:30 a.m. on May 9th, criminals stormed into the community of Tula using armed drones. They entered heavily armed with tactical gear, destroying everything in their path. They showed no regard for the presence of children. They fired indiscriminately at anyone they encountered. From the nearby hills, they took up positions to open fire. Some Army personnel were about 200 meters away, but they merely stood by as people fled in terror. They did not mobilize to confront or apprehend the attackers. The National Guard, the State Police, and the Army were present in the communities only to document the atrocity. They took photos, but they did not protect the citizens. They left them to their fate.

The images are horrifying. The atmosphere is tense. The sound of gunfire echoed through their homes. Chickens clucked for cover, and dogs howled. Dust billowed as if it were an open confrontation. On the hill near Tula, a drone landed. All that remained of the landscape were the traces of violence.

The Indigenous women recounted: “We stayed in the mountains, unable to sleep, because we were afraid the armed men would arrive. We hid silently because we were afraid they would find us.” At 2:40 a.m., several families had to flee to the community of Alcozacán to escape. More than three consecutive days of attacks were not enough to prompt the military to act; instead, they abandoned them.

The attacks continued on Mother’s Day. There was nothing to celebrate. Instead, there were screams and cries from the gunfire and bombs being thrown at homes. The aggression was direct. The criminals were shooting to kill. The nights have become a living hell. “We’ve spent our time fleeing, carrying our young sons and daughters on our backs to escape the bullets,” the women say in despair.

The roar of gunfire rattled the doors of homes. Mothers hid their children. The unspeakable scene of violence was devastating. They wanted to run, but held back until the shooting stopped. Death now lurks on the sidewalks and in every corner of the house. A mother from Tula recounts that she left at one in the afternoon because her community was being attacked with tear gas and gunfire from high-powered weapons.

“I got my twins out as best I could because they shot out my door; they almost hit us. The criminals are still there. I’m asking the government to listen to us because we’re suffering. My children are suffering. There’s a lot of fear. They’ve already killed our animals, they’re setting the brush on fire, they’re threatening to break in. The authorities are seeing what’s happening; please, listen to us. The children are crying; they can’t live safely in their homes anymore because the criminals are threatening us. The women and children aren’t to blame; we’re defending the people, we’re not criminals.”

As night fell, more than 800 displaced people were taking refuge in the church of Alcozacán. The municipal commissioner stated, “The women, girls, boys, mothers, widows, and elderly people over 70 are sheltering in the church. We are being attacked in the communities of Acahuehuetlán, Xicotlán, and Tula, and they are now entering Alcozacán. We are requesting support from all three levels of government. I have already called 911, the National Guard, and the mayor of Chilapa; we are awaiting their immediate support from Chilpancingo and the federal government. We need the government to arrive immediately. I ask President Claudia Sheinbaum and the governor to respond and speak with us. We await their urgent support.”

In addition to the recent episodes of violence, there is a long list of crimes, including 76 murders and 25 disappearances to date. Worse still, several children have been killed by criminal groups seeking total control of the communities and their territories. Defending our towns has cost us our lives. Some communities have been deserted due to the senseless and unrestrained violence.

State and federal authorities have allowed criminal groups to expand and operate with complete impunity. Meanwhile, the Indigenous population has been marginalized and discriminated against, left to face this unchecked power alone. Instead of protecting them, they are criminalized, and false arguments are made claiming that these are simply clashes between rival criminal groups.

For the Indigenous communities of Chilapa, the phrase “the poor first” is far from being a reality, because they remain subjugated by merchants and politicians. The municipal government of Chilapa has always been controlled by wealthy families from the town center. It has been a PRI stronghold, dominated by local political bosses who, in the last three administrations, passed the torch to the PRD. However, the vices remain the same; they reproduce the same patterns of corruption, nepotism, mistreatment, and neglect of the Indigenous communities. Insecurity, violence, and organized crime persist. Crimes are not investigated, much less punished. Justice is inaccessible to the Indigenous population, and high-impact crimes go unpunished. Cases of disappearances and murders of Indigenous people are only brought to light by their families. For the Prosecutor’s Office, these cases don’t count because there are no investigation files. The families are burdened with the entire investigation; in addition to filing complaints at the municipal headquarters, they are responsible for presenting evidence and witnesses. Fearing fatal consequences for demanding justice, the families resign themselves to silence and endure the scourge of fear and threats.

In the high mountains, violence spreads like an uncontrollable fire from the hills. On Sunday afternoon, an armed attack occurred in the community of Huitzapula, in the municipality of Atlixtac. At 6:00 p.m., gunfire began from the hills, and the attackers gradually approached the community with explosive drones. By 10:30 p.m., they were just 500 meters from the town center. The dark night holds surprises and secrets. In these attacks, it is now common for flashes of light from the devices exploding on the hillside to illuminate the night. Terror seems to have taken hold in the mountain communities, which are no longer peaceful.

The population has no option but to ask for help, yet the authorities are absent. No one seems to notice. They await orders from above; without them, the state security apparatus is paralyzed. The very authorities who receive the reports have grown accustomed to managing conflicts. They only verify if there are imminent dangers or if the safety of an official is at risk. Beyond these aggravating factors, people who fear being attacked or who are reported as murdered or missing have to wait until the lumbering elephant of the justice system finally reacts.

Before finalizing this article, we received information from Alcozacán that 13 people from Xicotlán have been reported missing. Their families have had to organize their own search efforts. They cannot do so freely because they know they are being harassed by criminal groups. Their anguish is compounded by the fact that the authorities are not coming to their aid. This Sunday afternoon, the military patrolled the community of Tula but did not make contact with the affected families. We hope that the authorities will respond to the communities’ pleas and listen to the mothers who are terrified that the attacks will continue. It is crucial to assist the families who reported the disappearance of their children and siblings, and to guarantee support for the victims of forced displacement. Information should not be distorted, nor should the work of the social organizations supporting the affected communities be discredited. To build peace in Guerrero, criminal structures must be dismantled; it is a legal imperative to prosecute those who threaten the lives and safety of people and to guarantee the protection of communities and families subjected to criminal violence.