To the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion,
To the National and International Sixth,
To the signatories of A Declaration for Life, on all five continents.
To Rebellious, Dignified, and Rebellious Europe,
To the free and independent media,
To those who walk the word of life,
Prior to the eviction of the Moreno Hernández family from the ejido of Jotolá, Mpo. Chilón, on February 12 of this year, comrade Francisco Moreno Hernández, who along with his family is a member of the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas, was arrested at 8 a.m. He was unjustly accused of the crime of aggravated dispossession of the lands that his family has held for generations.
As a result of the 1994 EZLN uprising, these lands which had been in the control of the hacienda owner who had kept the Moreno family and members of the community as slaves for generations, were recuperated being and freed up to those who work them. Subsequently, the Jotola ejido was established, where Francisco’s father, Manuel Moreno Pérez, was recognized as an ejido member. Since then, he and his family have worked peacefully, continuously, and publicly on approximately 5 hectares of land.
However, when Juan Cruz Méndez, Medardo Carmelino Cruz Méndez, Rogelio Cruz Méndez, and Guadalupe Cruz Méndez (Los Cruces) arrived from the Ejido de Montelibano, municipality of Oconcingo, from where they had been expelled for alleged crimes such as murder, kidnapping, attempted murder, and alleged links to organized crime, they began to take control of the ejido, causing unrest, social conflicts, and violent incidents in the community. Juan Cruz Méndez is the regional leader of the paramilitary organization ORCAO, which has since attacked the Moreno Hernández family, who under Zapatista principles, have resisted in this area as part of the CNI.
It was then that, without showing an eviction order, at around 11 a.m. on February 12, approximately 30 State Guard police officers, hooded personnel from the INPI and the Agrarian Court, accompanied by more than 50 ejido members led by “Los Cruces” from the ORCAO, gathered to remove the 30 members of the Moreno Hernández family, began beating them and stealing the cell phones of those who were recording, suffocating Francisco’s son until he was unconscious and handcuffing him, even though there was no arrest warrant. They detained Francisco’s mother and wife, Maria de Jesus Sánchez Gómez, while her young children with special needs screamed in fear and helplessness. After being detained, María de Jesus was beaten, groped, and strangled with a knee by the police of the Indigenous Prosecutor’s Office of Yajalón, who then threatened to disappear her, saying, “you’re the one who’s being the most stupid.”
The members of ORCAO, under the protection of the State Guard, a hooded National Guard member dressed in civilian clothes named José Moreno Sánchez (son of the current ejido commissioner of Jotola), and a former soldier dismissed for misconduct, began to destroy the five houses of the eight Moreno Hernández families with sledgehammers, removing and burning their belongings, tearing down the tin roofs, and killing the animals that the family had raised with great effort over many years, as well as their corn, coffee, and plant crops, and stealing their savings. The innocent children were left with irreparable psychological damage, homeless and without rights. Juan Cruz thanked the governor on social media that they could finally carry out what they had been waiting for so long to do.
At the initial hearing, María de Jesus was released under the condition of periodic reporting, as her court-appointed defense attorney argued that she has two children with special needs who depend on her. However, Francisco Moreno Hernández remained in custody until the hearing to determine whether he will be brought to trial, scheduled for Tuesday, February 17, at 9 a.m., as the prosecutor argued that he is the leader of the dispossession carried out by “Los Cruces.” Eight other members of the Moreno Hernández family are also facing arrest warrants. They have lost all their belongings and are in hiding for fear of being detained.
The resistance, work, and dignity that the Moreno Hernández family has shown for years, building their homes, raising their animals, and working the land without government assistance and in common, is under attack by the despotic rule and impunity of those who, with the support of the bad government, seek to end the struggle of their comrades in the National Indigenous Congress.
WE DEMAND:
THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF OUR COMRADE FRANCISCO MORENO HERNÁNDEZ
CANCELLATION OF THE ARREST WARRANTS
AN END TO THE AGGRESSIONS AGAINST THE MORENO HERNÁNDEZ FAMILY
PUNISHMENT OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE PARTIES WITHIN ORCAO AND THE CHIAPAS STATE POLICE
FOR THE FULL RECONSTITUTION OF OUR PEOPLES!
NEVER AGAIN A MEXICO WITHOUT US!
NATIONAL INDIGENOUS CONGRESS
Original text published by the Congreso Nacional Indígena on February 14, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.