The Human Rights Center Bartolome de las Casas transmits this denuncia received yesterday, 22nd of January, 2004, regarding the burning of houses and the detention of the citizen Joshué Jiménez Cruz in the community Nuevo San Rafael, located in the Montes Azules Biosphere reserve.
Human Rights Center Bartolome de las Casas 23rd January, 2004
Human Rights Center Bartolome de las Casas 23rd January, 2004
Today, members of this center went to that place in order to document the facts, but they could not get as far as Nuevo San Rafael, because the PROFEPA has prohibited the passage over the Lacantún river to the boatmen of the Ixcán community; therefore the conditions of the inhabitants of Nuevo San Rafael are not known. According to the testimonies obtained by this center, 23 houses of the community were burned and at the moment 40 Marine and Police elements remain in Nuevo San Rafael. It is important to note that the inhabitants of this community are indigenous choles displaced from Calvario, municipality of Sabanilla.
