Guatemala grants temporary status to 161 Mexicans fleeing organized crime
The Guatemalan Immigration Institute said that 39 families, including 69 children, from the Mexican municipality of Frontera Comalapa would be allowed temporarily to remain legally in the country.
The families were staying in rented homes, with relatives or in temporary shelters in the Guatemalan border town of La Mesilla.
But Eduardo Ramírez, governor of the Mexican border state of Chiapas, said Wednesday on X that those who went to Guatemala have relatives who have been arrested and are facing charges in Mexico, a claim he made without providing evidence.
'The organized crime that operates in the neighboring country of Guatemala wants to discredit our public safety strategy that has given tranquility and social peace in Chiapas' by saying people have been forcibly displaced by crime, Ramírez wrote. 'I categorically deny that fact.'
It was not the first time that Mexicans crossed the border to escape violence. In July of last year, nearly 600 crossed at another point on the border.
Two of Mexico's most powerful cartels from the northern states of Sinaloa and Jalisco have been battling for control of smuggling routes in the area of southern Mexico in recent years causing multiple displacements.
In June, Chiapas state police pursued suspects into Guatemala and engaged in a shootout.
____
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Pentagon unveils new medal for troops deployed in Trump's southern border crackdown
The Pentagon has created a new medal for service members who've deployed to the southern border to assist federal law enforcement with President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. The Pentagon unveiled plans for a Mexican Border Defense Medal for U.S. troops serving with Joint Task Force Southern Border, according to a new memo the Pentagon released Aug.13 that was shared on social media. A U.S. defense official confirmed the authenticity of the memo to Fox News Digital Wednesday. Now, service members will receive the Mexican Border Defense Medal (MBDM) instead of the Armed Forces Service Medal (AFSM) like they previously earned for supporting Customs and Border Protection at the border, the memo said. The Armed Forces Service Medal, originally created in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton, is awarded to troops who have participated in a military operation with "significant activity," but didn't encounter foreign armed opposition or imminent hostile action, according to a U.S. Army description of the medal. The Pentagon said in July that approximately 8,500 military personnel are assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, and have been tasked with responding to security threats there. The task force got underway in March and completed approximately 3,500 patrols between then and July, according to the Pentagon. Those eligible for the award must have deployed since Jan. 20 to support Customs and Border Protection, and served within 100-nautical miles from the international border shared with Mexico in either Texas, New Mexico, Arizona or California. Those who've also served in adjacent waters up to 24 nautical miles away from the border also are eligible. "Service members must have been permanently assigned, attached, or detailed to a unit that deployed to participate in a designated DoD military operation supporting CBP within the (area of eligibility) during the (period of award) for 30 consecutive or nonconsecutive days," the memo said. Those who already have received the Armed Forces Service Medal for service at the southern border may appeal to receive the new award but are ineligible to receive both, according to the Pentagon. "Service members and Veterans previously awarded the AFSM for DoD support to CBP may apply to their respective Military Service for award of the MBDM in lieu of the AFSM previously awarded to recognize such service; however, no Service member or Veteran may be awarded both the AFSM and the MBDM for the same period of qualifying service," the memo said. The Pentagon, per the direction of the president, has established four national defense areas along the border, bolstering U.S. troops' capacity to assist Customs and Border Protection under the task force. The national defense areas operate under military jurisdiction, paving the way for U.S. troops to detain trespassers. Without placing these stretches of land under military jurisdiction, U.S. troops were barred from doing so under existing federal law. "Through these enhanced authorities, U.S. Northern Command will ensure those who illegally trespass in the New Mexico National Defense Area are handed over to Customs and Border Protection or our other law enforcement partners," Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command, said in an April statement. "Joint Task Force Southern Border will conduct enhanced detection and monitoring, which will include vehicle and foot patrols, rotary wing and fixed surveillance site operations."
Washington Post
4 hours ago
- Washington Post
Michigan couple sues resort company after Mexican prison ordeal over timeshare dispute
DETROIT — A Michigan couple held for 32 days in a maximum-security Mexican prison without trial over a dispute with a luxury timeshare company has filed a lawsuit against the company and its chief executive. Paul and Christy Akeo of Lansing allege defamation, malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the complaint filed last week in Florida. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Associated Press
5 hours ago
- Associated Press
Michigan couple sues resort company after Mexican prison ordeal over timeshare dispute
DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan couple held for 32 days in a maximum-security Mexican prison without trial over a dispute with a luxury timeshare company has filed a lawsuit against the company and its chief executive. Paul and Christy Akeo of Lansing allege defamation, malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the complaint filed last week in Florida. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial. The Akeos say they disputed about $116,000 in credit card charges after Palace Elite Resorts breached their contract. The credit card companies sided with them and denied the charges for the timeshare in Cancun. According to the lawsuit, which names Palace Elite Resorts and chief executive José Gibrán Chapur Dájer, the company incorrectly claimed that they had fraudulently disputed the charges as 'unrecognizable.' The Akeos were arrested March 4 at Cancun International Airport after arriving for a vacation at a different resort. They were accused of fraud and a judge ordered them detained pending trial, attorney John Manly told The Associated Press in April. They returned home April 3 following negotiations between U.S. and Mexican officials. 'The Akeos languished in a maximum security prison in Cancun, Mexico, separate and apart from each other, unable to speak with each other or console one another,' according to the lawsuit which was filed Friday in Miami-Dade County. 'The prison conditions were horrific. The prison was overcrowded with violent criminals, the toilets didn't flush, and the food was untouchable. Worse, they were scared, terrified, and frightened that they may never go home again.' The Akeos say they were part of an unlimited referral program. Referrals that led to two-week stays by others at regular member prices allowed the couple to get an additional week for free. Prosecutors in the state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, said in a March 15 statement that the Akeos signed a contract with the Mexico-based hospitality group Palace Co. in November 2021 to buy a timeshare club membership at a resort in the Cancun area, but that the couple subsequently defrauded the hotel chain. Prosecutors said the company received notices from the credit card companies that 13 transactions totaling $116,587 had been canceled, and the couple then shared on Facebook how they had conned the hotel group. Manley said Christy Akeo did post on Facebook about their experience and how the charges were appealed to their credit card company, but that prosecutors had misrepresented the nature of her posts. Social media posts about their imprisonment by Christy Akeo's adult children — two-time national champion gymnast Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke — gained the attention of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, a Republican from Lansing. Barrett said he took it to the State Department and the White House. U.S. Consulate staff in Mexico and Barrett visited the couple in prison. The Akeos then went before a local judge and were released after they and the Palace Co. agreed to donate the disputed funds. Palace said $116,587.84 — the amount refunded to the Akeos — would be donated to a Mexican nonprofit benefitting orphans. 'When you are abroad, you are not as safe as you think you are,' Lemke Hull told the AP on Thursday, saying she doesn't think her parents will ever return to Mexico. She described their detention as 'a nightmare out of a movie' and that it took several days for the family to even learn what was going on. 'They were given a bucket of water to, basically, splash on themselves to use as their shower,' Lemke Hull said. 'But it was expected that the same bucket of water would be used to make the toilet work.' The lawsuit says the CEO is based in Florida and Lemke Hall urged the Department of Justice to investigate. The Palace Co. said Thursday in an email that it rejects all claims made in the Akeos' lawsuit and will take it's own 'appropriate legal action.' 'The Akeos and the Palace Company fully resolved their disputes earlier this year,' the company said. 'Mr. and Ms. Akeo have unfortunately proceeded with additional litigation against the Palace Company and affiliated entities and individuals in violation of the parties' resolution of their disputes.'
