Guatemala has deployed its elite Kaibiles special forces to its northern border with Mexico following a violent incursion by Mexican cartel gunmen into several rural communities, officials confirmed this week.
The invasion occurred on December 8, when armed teams believed to be affiliated with Mexican drug cartels crossed the border and launched attacks in at least six communities in the municipalities of San Marcos and Huehuetango, according to a statement from the Guatemalan Defense Ministry. The assaults triggered an intense confrontation between the gunmen and Guatemalan military forces.
During the clash, one Guatemalan soldier was injured. Authorities arrested one cartel gunman at the scene and reported that three others were killed in the firefight. Additionally, three more wounded cartel members were taken into custody and are receiving medical care under guard.
While there are conflicting reports on which criminal organization carried out the assault, Mexico’s Secretary of Defense Ricardo Trevilla said the region is contested by two major drug trafficking groups: the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel Chiapas y Guatemala, a faction of the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG). Both groups are recognized as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
In response to the escalation, Guatemala quickly mobilized its Kaibiles—a feared special forces unit trained in jungle warfare and counter-insurgency—to reinforce the area. Meanwhile, Mexico also dispatched troops to its side of the border in the state of Chiapas.
The Chiapas region has seen a sharp rise in cartel-related violence in recent years. The CJNG has aggressively expanded into territory long dominated by the Sinaloa Cartel, sparking a brutal turf war over the lucrative drug and human smuggling routes that run through Guatemala into Mexico.
Officials warn the situation remains volatile, with the border zone becoming a flashpoint for cartel conflict. Residents in the affected areas are calling for more security and military protection as fears of renewed violence grow.
