Mexico: Soldiers Held Captive After Killing Guatemalan Migrant

On Tuesday, Mexico's Defense Ministry reported that 15 soldiers were held captive by villagers at the border with Guatemala after an officer killed a Guatemalan migrant.

RELATED:

Guatemala Might Use Force Against Migrant Caravan

Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval explained that the soldiers fired at a vehicle with four migrants after they tried to avoid the military checkpoint in the Motozintla municipality, Chiapas state.

As a result the 30 years-old Guatemalan migrant Elvin Mazariegos Pérez died. In response, over 300 residents, including Guatemalan migrants, seized three vehicles and 17 guns and detained 15 soldiers that were released after hours of negotiations.

According to Sandoval, "there is an erroneous reaction on the part of military personnel because there was no assault with a firearm or an assault in any other way." However, this is the second crime against Guatemalan citizens in Mexico thus far in 2021. Last January, the remains of 19 people were found in Camargo, Tamaulipas, and 16 of them were Guatemalan migrants.