During the morning of 13 September, a group of 500 heavily armed men occupied the municipal palace of San Juan Copalá, where they presented an ultimatum that demanded the eviction of 100 families within 24 hours.  As has been denounced by the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copalá: “A group of 500 armed men entered the vicinity of San Juan Copala, took the municipal palace, and opened fire, resulting in the injury of María Rosa Francisca, 35 years of age.  Now it has become known that more than 100 families who continue to live there must be evicted by the community, for if they aren’t, they will be killed.”

On 16 September, 24 civil organizations from Finland sent a petition to the president of Mexico, the judiciary, and the Senate requesting that the respect for human rights be guaranteed in San Juan Copala, and that the paramilitary siege maintained in the region be ended.

For more information (in Spanish):

Urgent call to detain the genocide against the Triqui people of San Juan Copala (communiqué of the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copalá, 13 September 2010)

Paramilitary encirclement of the Oaxacan municipality of San Juan Copala is denounced (La Jornada, 16 September 2010)

MULT and UBISORT threaten to massacre all the residents of the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copalá (communiqué of the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala, 15 September 2010)

“The killings in San Juan Copala uphold a dictatorial situation” (Press release/Los Amigos de Jyri Jaakkola,16 September 2010)

For an end to the massacre in San Juan Copala (Press release of the AGRARIAN INDIGENOUS MOVEMENT ZAPATISTA-MAIZ, from the MEXICAN ALLIANCE FOR THE SELF-DETERMINATION OF PEOPLES [AMAP] and UCIZONI, 16 September)

3 women said to be injured in Copala (E-Consulta Oaxaca, 17 September)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Distrito Federal: visiting Mexico, the parents of Jyri Jaakkola demand justice for the case of their son and that of Bety Cariño (6 September 2010)

Oaxaca: new ambush in Triqui region leaves 3 dead and 2 injured (1 September 2010)