Our friends Glenn and Ellen are facing the repercussions from the imminent changes in NAFTA agricultural regulations. The Zapatistas are threatening to invade and take over certain ranches in protest over the lifting of duties on American agricultural products on Jan. 1.

Rancho Esmeralda, one of the best places to stay in Chiapas, is Glenn and Ellen's jewel in the Ocosingo Valley, a 15-minute walk from the ruins of Tonina. It is one of the places facing invasion. They have operated peacefully for years right next to a Zapatista squatters community AND a large army base. They are not a political or economic threat to anyone.

Can anyone help or get the story out to more media?

The full text of Ellen's press release, in English and Spanish, is below (click MORE)

Janet Schwartz's story in Novedades can be found here:

HABITANTES DE OCOSINGO DICEN QUE PLANEA OCUPAR PREDIOS

UPDATE: The San Francisco Chronicle has picked up the story from AP:

U.S. couple says Zapatista supporters planning land invasion, rebel sympathizers deny plan

And the CBS affiliate in Boise, Idaho (where Glenn and Ellen are from) has put an interview with them online:

KBCI 2 Boise, Idaho - Boise Couple In Standoff With Mexican Rebels

Rancho Esmeralda
Ocosingo, Chiapas, México
30 December2002

Glen Wersch and Ellen Jones
www.ranchoesmeralda.net
email: info@ranchoesmeralda.net
Cell Phone: (52) 91967 08960

SUBJECT: ZAPATISTAS BLOCKADE AMERICAN-OWNED GUEST RANCH IN CHIAPAS – NEW YEAR’S INVASION THREATENED

Zapatista members of an indigenous community outside of Ocosingo, Chiapas began blocking the entry road to a small, American-owned guest ranch on December 7th and are threatening invasion. Ranch owners and staff were called to a meeting by this community, Nuevo Jerusalen, on December 13th at which they were told that Rancho Esmeralda now falls under the authority of the Zapatistas. These Zapatistas also declared that tourism would no longer be allowed in the area and they demanded Rancho Esmeralda hand over the title to the property.

For twenty-three days Rancho Esmeralda has remained open to guests who have accessed the tourist facility by a walking trail that begins at the Tonina ruins. However, the leader of this Zapatista group, Armando Vasquez Bolom, has indicated to Rancho Esmeralda employees who met with him last week that the group, along with members of two other indigenous communities, plans to invade and take over the ranch in the next few days. As a result beginning Monday, December 30th, Rancho Esmeralda will be closed to guests until this problem is resolved. Sr. Vasquez also told Rancho Esmeralda staff that the community wants this tourist facility to run for itself and that the owners will not be allowed to remove any of their belongings because they want the tourist operation intact.

Rancho Esmeralda has been working with state and local officials since this blockade began but authorities are reluctant to enforce the law when it involves Zapatistas. As one state official told the owners when a gate was illegally installed on their road in June 2000, “They’re Zaptistas, they’re untouchable”.

Rancho Esmeralda is a small-scale, low-impact guest ranch which was started by former Peace Corps volunteers, Glen Wersch and Ellen Jones, from Boise, Idaho. They began working on the project in the fall of 1993, shortly before the Zapatista uprising on January 1, 1994. Their original idea was to develop a macadamia nut tree plantation as a long-term investment. But, after a brief invasion of the ranch the first time the owners left for a family visit to the states, Wersch and Jones realized they would have to become year-round residents to avoid losing their investment and the idea of tourist cabins was begun. Opening to guests in 1996, with two cabins, the couple has grown their business into a well-known tourist stop along the “Ruta Maya”; it is listed as one of the ten top places to stay in Mexico in the current issue of the Lonely Planet guidebook.

RANCHO ESMERALDA
Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico
29 December 2002

Glen Wersch y Ellen Jones
www.ranchoesmeralda.net
email: info@ranchoesmerald.net
Telefono Celular: 91967 08960

ASUNTO: CENTRO TURÍSTICO, RANCHO ESMERALDA, INVADIDO Y EMBARGADO POR ZAPATISTAS EN LOS PRÓXIMOS DIAS

Rancho Esmeralda, un centro turístico y huerta de nueces de macadamia (10 hectáreas) ubicado cerca de las ruinas de Tonina en el valle de Ocosingo, Chiapas, se embarga por Zapatistas perteneciente al nuevo Municipio Autónomo Primero de Enero y se amenaza por invasión en los próximos días. El rancho estará cerrado a huéspedes a partir del lunes, 30 de Diciembre.

Miembros de la comunidad, Nuevo Jerusalén, empezaron de bloquear acceso para todo turismo el 7 de Diciembre, 2002. El 13 de Diciembre, Rancho Esmeralda se cito a una reunión en la comunidad Nuevo Jerusalén, que esta colindada al rancho y se ubica en los dos lados de la Carretera San Juanito, la entrada al Rancho Esmeralda. En esta reunión unos 20 individuos, representados como autoridades de la comunidad, avisaron a Rancho Esmeralda que la comunidad Nuevo Jerusalén y Rancho Esmeralda ya pertenecen al Municipio Autónomo y que ambos ya caen bajo de su autoridad. Se informo que el turismo será prohibido por el Municipio Autonomo Primero de Enero y que la Carretera San Juanito ahora esta cerrado al turismo. Exigieron también la escritura del Rancho Esmeralda. Desde este entonces Rancho Esmeralda ha trabajado con las autoridades, local y estatal, para buscar una solución.

El Municipio Autónomo Primero de Enero incluye tres comunidades: Nuevo Jerusalén, Patria Nueva y Moisés Gandhi. El 23 de Diciembre Rancho Esmeralda tuvo una reunión con el líder de Nuevo Jerusalén quien indico que las tres comunidades ya se reunieron y decidieron que quieren Rancho Esmeralda para su propia empresa turística. El líder, Armando Vásquez Bolom, también indico que la toma del rancho esta programada por los próximos días y que Rancho Esmeralda no se puede sacar ningunas de sus pertenencias afuera del rancho. Todas las indicaciones ahora son de que la invasión esta planeado por el 31 de Diciembre cuando marchas en Ocosingo y San Cristóbal de Las Casas van a tomar lugar, distrayendo la prensa y los elementos de seguridad publica.

Rancho Esmeralda se ubica a 8 kilómetros al este de Ocosingo, Chiapas cerca de las ruinas de Tonina. La Carretera San Juanito, el acceso al Rancho Esmeralda, se ubica frente a la base militar mayor del 39th Batallón.