“They are guilty of the crimes of murder, torture, kidnapping, rape, illegal felling of trees, and trafficking in migrants. We demand the government relocates the criminal delinquent paramilitaries”
Mitzitón is a small Tzotzil community, located in woodland near to San Cristóbal de Las Casas. The majority of the inhabitants are adherents to the Other Campaign, and grow and care for the local trees. There have been problems in this community for the past thirteen years, since members of an evangelical group, Alas de Aguila, Eagle Wings, part of a larger paramilitary organisation, Ejército de Dios, the Army of God, or God’s Army, came to live in Mitzitón. They have, since 1997, the year of the Acteal massacre, refused to take part in any of the collective work of the community or to contribute to its costs. To the great concern of the majority, members of the organisation have been indiscriminately cutting down the trees which are loved and nurtured by the rest of the inhabitants.
The community say that the aggressive actions of the Eagle Wings have been getting worse and more frequent. As well as squandering the scarce timber and water resources, they operate with complete impunity within the community, issuing threats, kidnapping, beating, raping, using high velocity firearms, and wearing military uniforms. They are basically living off the profits they make from trafficking illegally in timber and in migrant people from Central America.
