Thousands of residents from 86 communities in Pantelhó gathered on Sunday to show their support for a new self-defense force that intends to protect the municipality from organized crime The Tzotzil Mayan residents also declared that they don’t recognize the legitimacy of the current and incoming municipal governments and will choose new authorities A self-defense group made up of some 100 men armed with assault weapons and machetes was presented on Sunday to the residents of Pantelhó a municipality in the Altos de Chiapas (highlands) region where several crime groups operate the self-defense force announced its formation on Saturday drug traffickers and other members of organized crime from the municipality in order to avoid more deaths of indigenous residents The locals offered their support to the group denounced the presence of organized crime in their communities and expressed their desire to live in peace and freedom They blamed a criminal group called Los Herrera for a recent wave of homicides and asserted that it has links to the municipal government Residents also denounced another armed group called Los Capotes and accused municipal police of constantly harassing them a group allegedly linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel A spokesperson for Pantelhó residents said the “narco-council” has been murdering Tzotzil people for the past two decades He said that sicarios linked to Democratic Revolution Party governments have controlled Pentalhó communities during the past 20 years a period during which residents say almost 200 indigenous people have been killed Many people have been displaced due to the violence although some returned to their communities this month after federal security forces were deployed residents called on the Chiapas government to investigate Mayor Delia Janeth Velasco Flores for links to crime and annul the results of the June 6 election at which her husband Trujillo is in cahoots with organized crime and should be jailed The residents said they intend to choose their own political representatives who will administer the municipality using a traditional from of government known as usos y costumbres The head of the Commission for Dialogue with the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico attended the meeting and assured residents she would take their concerns to authorities Josefina Bravo Rangel also said that authorities are committed to bringing peace to Pantelhó located about 60 kilometers northeast of San Cristóbal de las Casas San Cristóbal Bishop Rodrigo Aguilar called on authorities to act to put an end to violence in Pantelhó and neighboring Chenalhó, where armed conflict has also caused large numbers of people to flee “… Thousands of people have decided to leave their homes … There are many women and children among these people pregnant women have given birth in this situation … of displacement It appears that some people have returned to their places [of origin] but there continues to be thousands of displaced persons,” he said With reports from Milenio ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC A recently-formed self-defense group forced state police soldiers and members of the National Guard to withdraw from a highlands municipality of Chiapas on Monday after the official security forces refused to raid the homes of suspected criminals Members of the “El Machete” self-defense force which formed in Pantelhó earlier this month demanded that the state and federal security forces raid the homes of people who allegedly belong to a criminal group called Los Herrera which has been blamed for a recent wave of homicides and is accused of having links to the municipal government the security forces refused and were consequently run out of town by the self-defense force members El Machete proceeded to carry out the raids themselves Armed with guns as well as other weapons including crowbars and sledgehammers the self-defense force went house to house searching for Los Herrera hitmen They set at least 12 homes as well as cars a police vehicle and an ambulance on fire and managed to detain 21 suspected members of Los Herrera Among the homes targeted was that of Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) Mayor Delia Janeth Velasco Flores and her husband and mayor-elect Raquel Trujillo Morales Dozens of Pantelhó residents fled their homes during the rampage and sought refuge in neighboring municipalities The autodefensas also took control of the municipal government building and issued a statement directed to President López Obrador from its balcony “We know that you already have knowledge of all of this,” one self-defense force member read from a statement it’s better that you don’t keep intervening [in Pantelhó],” he said Residents who don’t support El Machete called for official security forces to return to the municipality The 21 men detained by the self-defense group appeared in photographs with their hands and feet tied The newspaper Reforma reported that they were transported on Tuesday to the community of San José Buenavista Tercero The autodefensas said earlier this month that their aim was to expel gunmen drug traffickers and other members of organized crime from Pantelhó in order to avoid more deaths of indigenous residents Thousands of residents from 86 communities in Pantelhó gathered on July 18 to show their support for the group The Tzotzil Mayan citizens also declared that they didn’t recognize the legitimacy of the current and incoming municipal governments and would choose new authorities El Machete’s seizure of the municipality comes just two weeks after Los Ciriles, a criminal group allegedly linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, took control of Pantelhó Federal and state security forces had regained control but official authorities now find themselves deposed once again The PRD has been in power in Pantelhó during the past 20 years a period during which residents say almost 200 indigenous people have been killed and countless people have been displaced A spokesperson for Pantelhó residents said recently that the “narco-council” has been murdering Tzotzil people for the past two decades With reports from Reforma and El Universal Gregorio Perez Gomez was found dead Tuesday evening in his car on an avenue in San Cristobal de las Casas the Chiapas prosecutor's office said in a statement The indigenous prosecutor "was in charge of investigating the violent events that took place in the municipality of Pantelho," it said Perez participated in a meeting in Pantelho of the federal government and Chiapas state administration with a commission of 86 local communities to shed light on events that occurred in July armed men stormed Pantelho town hall and clashed with a rival group causing thousands of people from rural communities to flee Several members of the security forces who entered the town to try to restore order were wounded in an ambush a vigilante group calling itself "El Machete" said it was behind the incursion and claimed it wanted "to expel hired killers "We do not want more deaths for the poor peasants (of the Tzeltal and Tzotzil ethnic groups)," it said hundreds of Tzotzil and Tzeltal representatives from the Pantelho communities elected their interim municipal authorities by show of hands and decided that El Machete would remain in the region Self-defense movements have proliferated since the 1990s in Mexico around 50 self-defense groups have been formed in Mexico to defend the interests of local indigenous populations.