Benemérito de las Américas

Introducing Benemérito de las Américas

South of Frontera Corozal is the far eastern corner of Chiapas known as Marqués de Comillas (for its Spanish former landowner). After oil explorers opened tracks into this jungle region in the 1970s, settlers poured in from all over Mexico. Ranching and logging have made some rich, while others profit from smuggling drugs or immigrants. Note that for your own security, it’s best to be off the Carretera Fronteriza before dusk – especially the most isolated section in the far southeast, between Benemérito de las Américas and the Chajul turnoff.

Benemérito de las Américas is the region’s main town, but that’s not saying much. Situated on the west bank of the Río Salinas, an Usumacinta tributary that forms the Mexico–Guatemala border here, it’s a bit forlorn, with no attractions except as a staging post (a possible route into northern Guatemala starts here). The main street is a 1.5km-long stretch of the Carretera Fronteriza, where residents sprinkle pails of water on the streets to tamper down the nonstop dust clouds. The well-signed and brilliant green Hotel Posada del Sol (502-5907-0687; s & d without/with air-con M$150/200, tr & q without/with air-con M$200/250; ) is a block west in the middle of town, with clean basic rooms and brand new TVs. On the highway and also in the center of town, the Restaurante Las Cazadores (502-5353-1833; mains M$30-75; 7am-9pm) serves up a myriad of meats like tepezcuintle (a type of rodent) and venison, along with the usual beef and chicken dishes.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009