Cover photo: Santiago Navarro F.
Confidential files of the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) leaked by the Guacamaya hackers group reveal a permanent monitoring by the military of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and organizations with affinity to the Zapatista movement.
One of the current concerns of Sedena, evident in its reports, is the action of the EZLN in relation to the Maya Train and other megaprojects in the south-southeast of Mexico.
The document Position of the EZLN for the construction of the Maya Train, classified as confidential, from January 2020, mentions the conditions of the Zapatistas in the Chiapas zone, the reasons why they oppose the Mayan Train and other megaprojects, as well as the way in which they would act against said works and the federal government itself.
Sedena estimates that the EZLN could re-arm itself and maintains that “the risk of the resurgence of the rebel movement is still latent,” due to the construction of megaprojects in the southeast of the country.
It is also stated that “the EZLN group represents a possible unfavorable factor to the internal security of the Mexican State”.
The Army recommends in an analysis dated January 20, 2019 that “intelligence monitoring of this group requires the work of civil and military intelligence in national security, given its background.”
Furthermore, Sedena considers it necessary to generate ‘intelligence’ about grassroots Christian groups of the Catholic Church, which would be close to the Zapatistas, and also about their position regarding the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Galeano
Regarding Subcomandante Galeano, Sedena considers that “he cannot be underestimated.”
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In the past, he managed to raise hundreds of residents in arms, “why couldn't he do the feat again today? Commander Ernesto Che Guevara already said: ‘There is no small enemy or negligible force, because there are no longer isolated peoples’.
Tour
Between May 2nd and September 12th of 2021, members of the EZLN made a tour of 30 European countries called “Journey for Life.”
The reports generated show that the Army followed up on the activities carried out by the Zapatistas before, during and after their tour of Europe, with weekly reports. The military were aware of the type of coverage and impacts that the visit of the Zapatista delegations in Europe and in the international media would generate.
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“In the same way, it is not observed first-hand that their activities have any negative repercussions for the Mexican government,” they detail in one of the reports.
Militarization
The military recount that in the reports the Zapatistas “disclosed the formation of 4 new autonomous municipalities (...) which could represent an expansion of its area of influence in the area bordering Guatemala”.
They also record that “currently the Caracol II (Oventic) is the one that represents the greatest relevance due to the events they have carried out and the indoctrination activities that Rafael Sebastián Guillen Vicente 'Galeano' regularly attends.” Also considering the facts mentioned, “this SND has maintained an operational deployment in accordance with the social and criminal situation in the state of Chiapas with troops under the jurisdiction of the VII RM (Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas.), currently with the support of the National Guard”.
