On behalf of all our friends and brothers and sisters of the fight, we condemn.

On the 23rd of March at around 11.30pm, our friend Bety Cariño Trujillo, the co-ordinator of our organisation, was having a rest alongside her two children, 8 and 5, when she heard shouting and uproar in the patio of her house. She went out to the patio and at that moment Omar Esparza, the father of her children, was being attacked by two individuals who were insulting and hitting him with bottles and their fists and pulling him. The children woke up of course and also went out to the patio where all this was going on. At the same time Bety Cariño Trujillo noticed that her neighbour, Señora Soledad Solano, with her two small children, 5 and 2, was also attempting to help. The first thing Bety did was look after the well being of her neighbour's little ones as well as of her own two children. She tried to keep them inside as the attackers were armed. A moment later, when they realised that it was too difficult to knock Omar Esparza out and hearing the screams of the children who were terrified, the attackers ran from the house and escaped in a blue car with registration plates of the State. Before they started hitting him, Omar had managed to call the police who arrived after 20 minutes, even though on the phone they said they didn't know where the community of Providencia was. They did non t seem to be able to locate Mina Street either, even though it is a well-known central area for those who live in Huajuapan de León.

Later Omar Esparza went out into the street and the attackers went on the run shouting insults and threats while the caretaker and our friend Bety waited outside for a little while. When the patrol passed by, they told them where the two men had fled to, while Omar tended to the children and calmed them down. The two guys returned within two minutes, threatening Bety Cariño and Soledad Solano with a firearm “We know where the bitches live, and we are going to make them pay” and the two friends hid very quickly. Following this, Omar went out to check where they had gone and when he realised that they were returning to his house and were barely 30 metres away, he decided to get into his van and pursue the patrol in order to get help. Then two white vans with pylons joined him and started to follow the blue car. After about 5 kilometres, the attackers entered the barracks of the 23rd company of the non-classified infantry (CINE) which is located in Huajuapan de León Oaxaca, 2.5 km from Acatlima.

After that, a number of soldiers came out to help the two attackers and let the blue WV car into the barracks. As a result the soldiers and the agents of the State Agency of Investigations are witnesses to the command of the general Subdirector of the AEI Huajuapan Eduardo López García. The presence was demanded of the high command of the CINE and the person who after informed that the attackers belonged to the 23rd company of the non-classified infantry and that their names were Avidavid Bravo González and Juan Carlos Bravo González.

When he returned home, Omar noticed that a laptop he had left on the table was no longer there and he realised that it was possible that the attackers had entered his house and robbed it. On the 24th of March, the friends who were attacked made a complaint to the Public Ministry and the Preliminary Investigation 405/HL/2010 was opened. They also lodged a complaint with the National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH). Omar suffered a few injuries from the beatings and there is the fear of some later reprisal against him as he is a member of the Agrario Indígena Zapatista Movement and against our friend Alberta Cariño, her son and daughter as well as the other children whose home belongs to the communities where the activities of our organisation take place. We know that it is possible that a lot of people do not like the work we carry out and we also know the risks we take.

We demand a halt to the impunity if the Mexican Army, to the abuse and aggression of military personnel against civilians and against those who defend human rights and social warriors. We also condemn the local and state press for not referring to this aggression.

Yours Sincerely,

Centre of United Working Community Support
Agrario Indígena Zapatista Movement