By Deutsche Welle
06 Jul 2024, 11:50 AM EDT
Seven Guatemalans are among the 19 dead in an armed confrontation between drug cartels in the state of Chiapas, south of Mexico, a week ago, according to the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry, which has so far has not been able to locate the relatives of the deceased.
The massacre occurred on June 28 in the municipality of La Concordia, near the border with Guatemala, and Mexican authorities initially said that four Guatemalans were killed.
“In follow-up to the case, the Consulate General of Guatemala in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, confirmed the identification of seven bodies, all of Guatemalan origin”the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Guatemalan authorities will now begin “the process of locating the families of those identified” to notify them of the deaths and support any eventual repatriation of the bodies, he added.
They are looking for relatives of the deceased
Local newspaper Prensa Libre said Guatemala’s Foreign Ministry had not yet been able to establish contact with the victims’ families and that the bodies had not been claimed.
Given the lack of communication with possible relatives, the Ministry announced that it will request support from municipal authorities in the place of origin of each victim to locate their families.
“Confrontation” between drug cartels
According to Mexican authorities, it was a “confrontation” between the Sinaloa Cartelone of the most powerful in that country, and another criminal gang that they identify as “Chiapas and Guatemala Cartel”.
Both criminal organizations are fighting for control of drug trafficking in that border zone, according to Mexican authorities. Guatemala and Mexico share almost a thousand kilometers of border, which has little police or military presence.
jc (afp, Free Press)