DAILY NEWS: Guatemala massacre leaves at least 27 people dead

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Security forces are investigating if the killings are connected to the death of the brother of an alleged drug trafficker

At least 27 people have been killed in a massacre in northern Guatemala, with most of the victims beheaded.

The killings of the 25 men and two women took place in the town of Caserio La Bomba, near the border with Mexico, after it came under attack by 200 raiders.

"This is the worst massacre we have seen in modern times," police spokesman Donald Gonzalez told Reuters.

Security forces are investigating whether the attack in the province of Peten is related to the killing of Haroldo Leon, the brother of alleged Guatemalan drug trafficker Juan Jose "Juancho" Leon, the Associated Press reported.

Leon was killed in 2008 in an ambush that Guatemalan authorities blame on Mexico's Zetas drug cartel, which has increasingly wrested control of the drug trade beyond its own borders.

In February, the Guatemalan government lifted a two-month-long state of siege that it had declared in Guatemala's Alta Verapaz province, which neighbours Peten, during which troops were deployed to quell drug-related violence.

The state of siege gave the army emergency powers including permission to detain suspects without warrants and resulted in the arrest of at least 20 suspected members of the Zetas gang.

The Zetas, a group of ex-soldiers, began as hit men for Mexico's Gulf drug cartel before breaking off on their own and quickly becoming one of Mexico's most violent gangs.

They are notorious for their brutality, having pioneered the now-widespread practice of beheading rivals and officials, and have extended their reign of terror into Central America

The Zetas began controlling cocaine trafficking in the Alta Verapaz region in 2008 after killing Leon. Guatemala's northern border is an active drug transfer point for cocaine moving north towards from South America in the direction of the US.

Ben Quinn

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Angelique Chrisafis, Dominic Rushe, Helena Smith 16 May, 2011

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/16/guatemala-massacre-leaves-27-dead
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