Valle del Redondo squatters sneak onto liquified gas field

Squatters sneaked into a lot that is used for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) near Valle del Redondo, on the east side of Tijuana. According to the gas company’s lawyer Esteban Capella, around 8 pm on September 12, the night watchers reported the break-in.

Capella said that besides its illegality, people risk extreme danger due to underground pipelines. The company’s building has 11 million liters of LPG storage, and the occupied area is surrounded by three other LPG companies.

“The mandatory security protocols in this matter require an area where human activity is forbidden. That's why we have this land.

"The day after more people entered the property, we called the police, but they never came."

The company warned the paracaidistas (parachutists or squatters) about the risk and the illegality of their action and asked them to exit the property. According to Capella, despite the danger, more people arrived, and a week later the group reached 200 people.

“We started a dialogue to make them know how dangerous settling there is. If they start digging to erect anything, they could cause an explosion that can lead to a big catastrophe. But the warning didn’t work; they are not changing their mind."

One of the new inhabitants of the so-called Nueva Jerusalem is Rosario Peraza, 71, who has been living in Tijuana for the last 40 years and is trying to own a piece of land here. He explained that 90 percent of them are Christians and they all know each other and they are from states like Chiapas, Sinaloa, Oaxaca, and Sonora.

“We're happy over here, there is no way that people will assault us, and there is no insecurity in this area, we all have Christ in our hearts. We know He’s with us in this struggle.” Rosario said. "And we have no fear of being over these gas pipelines, in all the city is the same, in the downtown, for instance, there are more pipelines than anywhere in Tijuana."

Part of the tiny neighbors' committee they have formed said that the Prosecutors Office has threatened them with doing the same they did with the illegal settlers in the Cerros de las Abejas some months before. They claim to be victims of aggression from the Prosecutors Office.

“These people came super aggressive and we told them that the daughter of Jesus Labra Avilez, the owner, told us where we could settle. We have her permission.” One of the members of the neighbors' committee who did not want to be identified emphasized. “We are organizing a demonstration in front for the state hall facilities, to be heard out by Bonilla’s government.”

Meanwhile, Capella and the LP gas company said they have already proved the ownership of the land and it's a matter of time for their lawsuit against the settlers to be applied and to remove the inhabitants of the so-called New Jerusalem neighborhood. “Our main problem, I think, is the lack of legality we have in Mexico. We need more civic consciousness.”