Military repels “possible” attack on delegation of Guatemalan president

Guatemalan military repelled on Saturday a “possible” attack against the entourage of Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, who was on a work tour in a western village near the border with Mexico, Army spokesman Ruben Tellez said.The official told reporters that the confrontation between soldiers and armed people occurred at a registration and perimeter security post less than two kilometers from the village of La Laguna, municipality of Jacaltenango, where Giammattei was located.” Units of the Guatemalan army marked the stop to a vehicle that was approaching its location, however, the members of the same to notice the presence of the military personnel began a series of shots to which the soldiers responded, “he said. “The reaction of the members of the vehicle deserved the response that was given and treat it as a possible attack on the entourage and the integrity of Mr. President,” the official said. According to images shared by the institution, the confrontation occurred in a mountainous area in the department of Huehuetenango 400 meters from the border line with Mexico, where drug trafficking groups usually operate. In the fray, an alleged Citizen of Mexico was shot and taken to a hospital, while his companions fled to the Mexican side where authorities detained four people possibly of Guatemalan origin linked to the incident. Meanwhile, a rifle grenade and a radio communicator were found at the scene of the attack. “We inform the people of Guatemala and the international community that the president of the republic is unharmed and was evacuated from the area in a timely manner,” the government said in a statement. We recommend you read: He added that “the investigation operations continue by (the) security forces of Guatemala and Mexico” to “collect the necessary information to determine the intentions of this group of people,” the text detailed. Tecate-Ensenada highway closed with a burning van

Original source in Spanish