The 16 administrative employees of the Chiapas Citizen Protection Secretariat for Security (SSPC) kidnapped last Tuesday in Ocozocoautla (west of the state) were released this Friday. The agency’s staff were held down by an armed group, which was demanding the firing of three SSPC officers. The incident has led to more than 1,000 agents from various agencies being mobilized over the past few days to find the kidnapped person on land and in the air. So far, two prisoners have been at the scene of their kidnapping.
Milenio’s pictures show the victims drinking water and hugging their loved ones after three days in detention. The outlet said the abductees lacked water and food, but said the 16 people were in good condition. The kidnapping of the employees unfolded amid a tide of doubts, most of which are still unexplained. One of them, given in recent days, was the number of those kidnapped: initially it was 14, the local media spoke of 23, but finally it was the Minister of State Security, Gabriela Zepeda, who kept the number at 16.
Chiapas Governor Rutilio Escandón, who has kept a low profile on the media about the incident, confirmed the release of the 16 hostages via Twitter. “They were released this afternoon. “We thank President López Obrador, the Mexican Army, Navy, National Guard, prosecutors and state police for their cooperation,” he said in a brief letter. Between the various authorities, they mobilized more than 1,000 agents to establish the whereabouts of those arrested.
I would like to inform the people of Chiapas and Mexico that the 16 kidnapped SSyPC compañeros were released this afternoon. We thank the President @lopezobrador_the Mexican Army, Navy, National Guard, Prosecutors and State Police for their cooperation.
— Rutilio Escandón (@RutilioEscandon) June 30, 2023
It took less than 24 hours for the issue to reach the National Palace. The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has repeatedly called for the release of the hostages at his conferences: first, he conveyed the message in a non-serious tone, declaring that if they were not released, he would “blame the parents and …” the grandparents” of the Hijacker; A day later he became more serious and warned that they would not accept what had happened.
In the first few hours, a video showed a first glimpse of the people the armed group had held for the kidnapping after the riot. The pictures showed the 16 employees apparently in good physical condition and stated that they were doing well. They conveyed the message from the armed group, which pointed to and called for the dismissal of three senior officials from the Chiapas SSPC, whom they accused of having El Pulseras as their boss. This name refers to Jesús Esteban Machado Meza, El Güero Pulseras, identified as one of the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The kidnapping of singer Nayeli Cyrene on June 22 was one of the pivotal moments in the story. That day, an armed squad showed up at her home and kidnapped her. The armed group, which held state officials for three days, issued a statement on Wednesday calling for the singer’s release, framing the incident in the context of a possible hostage crisis between mafia organizations. Information circulated so far indicates that Cyrene was kidnapped by the Sinaloa Cartel, which is in open war with the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel for control of the human and drug trafficking in Chiapas. The kidnappers’ accusation of the three senior officials raises the possibility that the conflict is between organized crime groups.
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