Finca Salvador Italia had been producing coffee continuously from 1922 to 2022. However, in 2023, for the first time in 100 years, it was impossible to carry out the harvest due to security concerns caused by the activity of Mexican cartels fighting for control over the border with Guatemala.
At the beginning of 2025, the prospect of resuming cultivation still seemed very distant. But thanks to a new state government, access to the plantation and harvesting coffee became possible once again. The cartel violence began right in the middle of the harvest. Fearing for their lives, workers and locals had to flee, leaving the harvest unfinished. We managed to extract only a small amount of coffee—using tougher and more remote routes—but most of the crop was lost due to the inability to access the farm. The situation became so dangerous that many people had to abandon the town completely. Now, little by little, they are beginning to return.
