San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas
April 30, 2025
Urgent Action No. 02
We demand the immediate release of EZLN Support Bases José Baldemar Sántiz Sántiz and Andrés Manuel Sántiz Gómez.
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- Repression and direct attack against Zapatista autonomy
- We warn of another case of false charges that threatens the struggle for Life and the Common Good.
We strongly denounce the criminalization and systematic repression by the Mexican State against the Ejercito Zapatista de LIberación Nacional(EZLN) and its Support Bases José Baldemar Sántiz Sántiz and Andrés Manuel Sántiz Gómez, who were arbitrarily deprived of their freedom in an operation that took place in the community of San Pedro Cotzilnam, municipality of Aldama, which represents a direct attack on the Zapatista movement and the territory where Autonomy and Self-Determination are being built, in the persistent struggle for Life and the Common Good.
In the early hours of Sunday, April 27, 2025, the BAEZLN were taken to the State Center of Social Reinsertion for Sentenced Persons (CERSS) No. 5 of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, under accusations of aggravated kidnapping in a process plagued with irregularities.
The detention of the BAEZLN was carried out without an arrest warrant and the searches of their homes were carried out without judicial authorization, accompanied by abuses, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, robberies and flagrant violations of their human rights. These actions, perpetrated by security and military forces, including the National Guard and the Pakal Immediate Reaction Forces, are evidence of a systematic pattern of state repression and violence in Chiapas.
This case is another example of the criminalization strategy used by the Chiapas State Attorney General’s Office, which fabricates evidence and unjustly accuses innocent people, while the real perpetrators remain unpunished. This attack not only violates the individual rights of José Baldemar and Andrés, but also constitutes an aggression against the territory and autonomy of the Zapatista peoples.
Therefore, we demand of the federal and state governments:
- The immediate and unconditional release of José Baldemar Sántiz Sántiz and Andrés Manuel Sántiz Gómez, Bases of Support of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation.
- The end of repression and attacks against Zapatista autonomy.
- An end to the fabrication of guilt and impunity in Chiapas.
We call for national and international solidarity!
We call all people, organizations and movements to mobilize in their own time and ways to demand justice. It is urgent to raise our voices to stop the repression of the State and to guarantee the freedom of the BAEZLN comrades, who today are hostages of a repressive system. Stay tuned for updates on this case and act in defense of dignity, justice and human rights and for the defense of autonomy, territory and life.
Original text by Frayba.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.