Drug Violence

27 Killed in Guatemala Massacre

One of the worst shootings in a generation.

In what a police spokesman has called “the worst massacre we have seen in modern times,” unidentified gunmen have killed at least 27 people--decapitating most of the victims--in a Guatemalan village close to border with Mexico. The murder of 25 men and two women occurred early Sunday in the town of Caserio La Bomba in Peten province, and could be linked to the killing Saturday of Haroldo Waldemar Leon, the brother of slain drug trafficker Juan Jose Leon, who was murdered by the notorious Mexican drug cartel Las Zetas in 2008. The northern border of Guatemala is a major drug transfer point for cocaine heading to the U.S. from South America.