Body of Teen Killed by US Border Patrol Returned to Guatemala

By teleSUR

02 June 18

Local residents of the Maya-Mam town came out in mass to demand "justice" for the death of 19-year old Claudia Gomez.

undreds of indigenous residents from the Guatemalan town of San Juan Ostuncalco paid their respect to Claudia Gomez, a 19-year old Guatemalan woman who was shot dead near the border with Mexico by a United States border patrol agent.

Despite heavy rains, residents came out in mass to demand "justice" for Gomez's death.

Officials from Guatemala's Ministry of Foreign affairs delivered her body to weeping relatives, friends and neighbors. "We want to clarification (of the events) and justice," said the mayor of the Maya-Mam town Juan Aguilar.

Meanwhile, Guatemalan deputy foreign minister Pablo Garcia told reporters that a team of lawyers is following up on Gomez's case, as well as three other migrants detained during the incident, according to Yahoo Noticias.

The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the agent involved in the shooting was responding to "a report of criminal activity" near a sewer, on May 23. Firefighters reported that the victim, who was later identified as being Claudia Gomez, was shot in the head.

Marta Martinez, a witness to the deadly shooting, denied that the U.S. border patrol agent was attacked. "Why did you shoot the girl? You killed her; he killed the girl! There she is, the girl is dead," she said in a Facebook video posted shortly after hearing the fatal gunshot.

She also told Univision that she did not hear the agent say: "Stop, stop, don't run. You just heard the bullet."

"We want justice and that her killer is imprisoned," said Dominga Vicente, the victim's aunt, in the capital city of Guatemala. She said she had spoken with Gomez's mother the day before the victim was killed and was told Claudia was fine.

Donned in traditional Mayan attire, Vicente said Gomez had left for the United States in early March to improve her standard of living. She had graduated from middle school two years ago but was unable to enter university.