Die verlorene Grenze im Dschungel

In the organizer's words:

The jungle in the department of Petén in Guatemala is more than just a dense forest. It is a hostile, mysterious and difficult to penetrate space. A green body that, with its rivers and trees, both connects and separates Mexico and Guatemala - in the midst of violence, poverty and the displacement of farmers and indigenous population groups. It is a world ruled by an invisible map and dominated by a dark power that hides behind the silence of its inhabitants.

Petén borders Belize to the east and the Mexican states of Tabasco, Chiapas and Campeche to the north. Insecurity and inequality have characterized the lives of the people here for years. Silence, fear and the forest have become brothers.

Petén is an area where the state does not penetrate and where organized crime operates unhindered. Here, secret runways run through the jungle like scars, turning it into a strategic corridor for international drug trafficking. Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán fled from justice across this border. In 2011, the Los Zetas cartel carried out a massacre of 25 men and two women here.

The jungle is characterized by smuggling, human trafficking, abuse and systematic violence against undocumented migrants on their way to the so-called American dream, which has long since turned into a nightmare for them.

This region is home to poverty-stricken communities such as La Revancha and Laguna Larga, which are the focus of this exhibition. Access to healthcare, education, housing, drinking water and electricity is limited there. The people live from simple agriculture and illegal logging. In protected areas like these, the dilemma is brutal: exploit the environment or die. The inhabitants are caught between the pressure of illegal actors and criminalization by the authorities, who do not distinguish between guilt, need and mere suspicion.

An exhibition conceived by Salvadoran photojournalist Víctor Peña. He is a journalist for the online medium El Faro.