José Guardado Herrera, 21, and Eli Naún Guerra, 44, both Hondurans, remain in police custody at a private care center in Puerto Barrios, Izabal, after being admitted with gunshot wounds, indicated the National Civil Police (PNC).
According to the PNC report, the men were transferred on the morning of Wednesday, May 21, in a private vehicle from Corinto, Honduras.
Guardado Herrera has a gunshot wound to the abdomen, while Guerra has a gunshot wound to the skull.
According to the Honduran Police, the two men in custody in Guatemala would be linked to the armed attack in the border area of Corinto, Omoa, Cortés, where Five members of the security forces died.
Wilber Mayes Ríos, communications director of the Honduran PNC, said that Guardado and Guerra are allegedly part of a drug trafficking structure led by Heber Noé Argueta.
“A team from the Police Investigation Directorate is moving to the area to be able to clarify, investigate and verify the direct participation that these individuals had when carrying out this action against our police officers,” Mayes commented.
The version of the wounded
According to the Guatemalan PNC report, the wounded said at the hospital that they were near the scene of the shootout between Honduran security forces and suspected drug traffickers when stray bullets hit them.
You might be interested in: Massacre in Honduras: Guatemala on alert due to armed confrontation near the border area
Guardado Herrera claimed to be a day laborer, while Guerra explained that he was dedicated to exchanging lempiras in the border area.
“They stated that, since they did not have adequate medical assistance in Honduras, they were helped by a local resident, who took them aboard a vehicle to the Hermano Pedro Clinic and Sanatorium, located on 21st Street, between 13th and 14th Avenue, in Puerto Barrios, Izabal. Likewise, they stated that they entered Guatemala irregularly,” details the police report.
The Ministry of the Interior of Guatemala reported that the two Hondurans will remain in police custody while the case is investigated.
“Respective coordination is being carried out with Honduran authorities to establish whether or not they are related to the armed events in that country,” he commented.
More security on the border with Honduras
According to the Ministries of Defense and Government of Guatemala, they have reinforced security on the border with Honduras after the armed confrontation that occurred on Thursday, May 21 in Corinto, Omoa, Cortés, where at least five agents of the Anti Maras and Gangs Police Directorate against Organized Crime (Dipampco) of that country died.
Guatemalan authorities reported that they maintain surveillance and monitoring in the border area due to the possibility that suspects linked to the attack may try to enter Guatemala.
Violence in Honduras
In Honduras there were massacres and an armed confrontation. One of the events was in the Rigores sector, Trujillo, department of Colón, where at least 19 people were murdered during the early hours of the morning, according to authorities and international media.
The first hypotheses suggest that the victims were agricultural workers intercepted by armed men when they were on their way to work. Among the deceased were women and several bodies were located near a hut and African palm plantations.
Hours after the massacre in Colón, Honduran authorities reported another armed confrontation in Corinto, Omoa, near the border with Guatemala. In that event, five agents died during an anti-drug operation.
After that attack, José Guardado Herrera, 21, and Eli Naún Guerra, 44, both Hondurans, were taken with gunshot wounds to a clinic in Puerto Barrios, Izabal, where they remain in police custody.