Neighboring Residents Turned into Agricultural Killers Due to Border Conflicts

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 06-13-2020, 12:05 PM

Guatemala, A new confrontation between residents of Nahualá and Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán took place in the state of Siege on June 11 resulted in six arrests, several wounded and two dead.

That morning, a group of people blocked the passage at three points on the Inter-American route, where long lines of vehicles formed; In addition, anti-riot officers arrived to disperse the protesters.

The authorities reported the capture of six people in the place, also according to the prosecutor of the Public Ministry of the area that two people were dead, but due to the conflict they have not been able to enter.

“What happened is unfortunate because from the other municipality they came to attack us, they broke the state of Siege, they walked 12 to 15 kilometers to surround us, we felt annoyance throughout our town. Our intention is to establish a dialogue table, but they have only scheduled meetings that have been canceled, ”said a resident and first trustee of the Ixtahuacán municipality.

On May 30, 2020, President Alejandro Giammattei decreed a state of siege in Nahualá, Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán and Santa Lucía Utatlán, in Sololá.

According to article 2 of the aforementioned decree, the declaration of the state of siege is established considering that in these municipalities "a series of actions have been carried out that affect the order, governance and safety of the inhabitants."

The two municipalities are of the ethnic group, K'iche ', are of the same race and speak the same language; however, they have lived in conflict for a long time. The reason, border disputes that have been fueled by areas where it is not clear where a community begins and ends.

Obidio Paz, assistant to the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH) in Sololá, reported that they verified how the conflict between the two populations develops.

Several people are reported injured and the deceased are from the Chirijox village, according to preliminary information.

A meeting is planned with the two mayors to try to reach an agreement in the current situation.

Paz indicated that residents of Nahualá had decided to go to the lands to clean crops and restore the piped water service and that supposedly generated the anger of residents of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán.

The conflict between these two municipalities of Sololá has claimed the lives of dozens of Guatemalans.

The security forces called for reinforcements to continue surveillance in both municipalities.