Prosecutor, 6 others killed in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY – A Guatemalan federal prosecutor and six other people were killed in an attack near the Mexican border blamed on drug traffickers, officials said Monday.

The attackers burned the bodies of their victims, inluding Chiquimula prosecutor Irma Olivares, a businessman and the director of a regional government social services agency, said Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez. The bodies of three bodyguards were found in another charred vehicle nearby.

“The modus operandi of the attackers corresponds to drug trafficking groups” operating in the border region, he added.

According to Lopez, the victims were returning from the inauguration of a hotel in La Messilla city.

Mexican drug cartels, especially Los Zetas, have expanded their operations to Guatemala, a source of cocaine being smuggled into the United States.

About 42 percent of crimes and acts of violence in Guatemala are tied to drug trafficking, according to government estimates.