Jackson Free Press

Guatemalan native Osiel Mendez sought asylum when he entered the United States in 2005, five years before his wife and two sons were able to cross the Mexican-American border to join him. He received asylum in 2008.

On June 16, Mendez came to a meeting of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance with his family to share his story.

"In the countries of South America, the worst people are the people in authority," Paul Morris Jr., lead organizer for MIRA, translated for Mendez. "The worst person, the head of it all, is the president of Guatemala."

Mendez claimed that President Álvaro Colom used to be the leader of the Zetas, a violent drug cartel based in Mexico and Guatemala. Because of Mendez's involvement with human-rights groups in his country, the Zetas targeted him in 2004, and he began receiving death threats by phone and through letters slipped under his door. He was attacked twice, and his oldest son was threatened as well.

"What was my solution?" he asked his audience. "If I'd stayed in Guatemala another month, I'd be dead."

Mendez traveled through Mexico and joined a group of men in the desert who were trying to cross the border to the United States. When he arrived in Mississippi, MIRA helped him attain asylum, and several years later, rejoined him with his family. Asked to describe how he felt upon their reunion, Mendez said, "Yo sentí muy, muy happy." (I feel very, very happy.) Patricia Ice assisted him with his claim.

He has no fear of authorities here as he did in Guatemala. "When I see police here, I don't hide from them," he said. "I'm not scared of them. I'm happy that I see them passing by."

In Guatemala, the police facilitate the drug cartels, Mendez said. Colom allegedly received $11.5 million for his presidential campaign from the Zetas. In December 2010, the Associated Press reported that the Zetas transmitted a radio message to Colom, stating: "We are the Zetas group and just wanted the country to know that President Álvaro Colom received $11.5 million before elections ended. He will pay for failing to comply, be it (via) guilty or innocent (people). ... You, Mr. President, are the one who sold the country out to the Zetas. Now you will pay the price, surprises that will come with actions not words."

In May, the Guatemalan government attributed the slaughter of 27 people on a farm in Petén, Guatemala, to the Zetas. On June 13, the AP reported that federal officials in Guatemala found a video showing the decapitation of Alan Stwolinsky, the prosecuting attorney. AP also reported that the murder was retaliation for Stwolinsky helping seize 434 kilograms of cocaine from the Zetas.

The unrest and violence in Guatemala has not abated since Mendez's departure. "I hate all authority in Guatemala, but I'm happy here. I don't want to return to Guatemala," he said. "I feel comfortable and secure here, and I feel a kinship to all Americans, since all of us share the same blood as Jesus Christ."

Mendez pledged his allegiance and appreciation for MIRA, saying he would do anything they asked him to do out of gratitude for their assistance.