schema:articleBody
| - A group of Mexican soldiers was detained and taken to Guatemala by border residents after a Guatemalan was reportedly shot dead at an army checkpoint, officials said on Monday. According to local police reports, troops at the checkpoint in Mazapa de Madero, near the border, stopped a truck driven by Elvin Mazariegos, a 30-year-old Guatemalan man. An official source said Mazariegos was shot after he pointed a gun at the soldiers. Residents of border communities in Guatemala and Mexico arrived at the scene and detained 15 troops and three trucks, although they later released eight soldiers. "Currently there are seven soldiers detained by the inhabitants," a Mexican government source who requested anonymity told AFP. Guatemalan army spokesman Colonel Ruben Tellez confirmed seven Mexican soldiers were being held in Guatemala. "They are well and guarded by PNC (National Civil Police) agents for their own safety, while negotiations resume tomorrow (Tuesday)," he said. Guatemalan Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo tweeted demanding the Mexican authorities investigate crimes committed against his compatriots, "so that justice is done and these reprehensible acts will not be repeated." The diplomat was also alluding to the murder in January of 16 Guatemalan migrants in Tamaulipas, near the US border, in a case in which a dozen Mexican police officers were detained. The Guatemalan foreign ministry condemned the new death and said consular officials in Mexico were on their way to the scene. The Mexican military was not immediately available for comment. The governments of Mexico and Guatemala launched a joint border operation with the military and police over the weekend to stop caravans of migrants hoping to reach the United States. str-bur/yug/lda/mtp/qan
|