Narco Tanks and Captives Freed After Government Operation in Border Region of Chiapas

ByWorld News

Jan 5, 2025

By “El Huaso” for Borderland Beat

In a surprise operation on Friday, government security forces raided several safe houses and ranches in Chiapas’ border region with Guatemala, capturing 24 vehicles including five improvised armored fighting vehicles (IAFVs), three alleged criminals, and freeing eight foreigners who were being held captive.

The operation was reported by Chiapas’ new governor Eduardo Ramírez. According to Ramirez, the operation included the Fuerza de Reacción Inmediata Pakal, a special police unit created to fight organized crime in the state, the National Guard, the Army, and State Attorneys General Office.

In one of the safe houses which was being used as a workshop, authorities located five IAFVs, commonly called “blindados” or “monstruos” in Mexico or homemade armored vehicles. Photos show the vehicles are built on large truck chassis and are outfitted with thick metal plates. The paint job resembles the thick forests found in Southern Chiapas.

It is not yet known who these vehicles belong to, but in recent years, the CJNG has deployed many similar IAFVs in their attempt to wrest control of the state from rival groups.

A Small Wars Journal report on IAFVs from 2020 notes that IAFVs have been used for over a decade in Mexico. In recent years they have proliferated across the nation, apperaing in conflicts from Tamaulipas to Chiapas.