Central America
Guatemalan migrant José Yovanny Bocel Conoz repatriated for burial 13 years after being killed in Mexico
The family of Guatemalan migrant José Yovanny Bocel Conoz will finally be able to lay him to rest in Guatemala. His body was repatriated from Mexico on Thursday, 13 years after he was killed by members of organized crime in that country.
The body arrived on an Aeromexico cargo flight from Mexico City to Guatemala City, confirmed Rosmary Yacs, the family’s lawyer.
In 2012, when Mexico claimed to have identified the deceased, they sent the family a body. They honored, woke, and buried it, but later learned that the body they received was not that of the young man, who was 17 years old at the time of his death.
Bocel Conoz left his community in Camanchaj, in the municipality of Chichicastenango, Quiché, a poor, indigenous area in the west of Guatemala, headed for the United States in 2011. The young man wanted to find work and support his family, who lived in extreme poverty, but his journey was cut short.
A week after beginning his journey, the migrant made his last communication with his family, telling them he was in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and would soon cross the border. He was never heard from again.
At that time, organized crime targeted migrant groups, presumably to force them to join their ranks or extort their families by demanding ransoms in exchange for leaving them alive.
It is now known that Bocel Conoz was kidnapped, tortured, and killed by unknown assailants in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, and his body ended up in a mass grave.
The family’s lawyer told The Associated Press that the process has been complicated and difficult for them. “It’s a serious violation of their rights,” she said.
When Bocel Conoz’s body arrives in his community, the family will not hold a wake. The pain and the memory of what happened have been so great that they do not want to go through that again and have decided to bury him immediately, said Yacs.
“Finally, today we hope the family can close this chapter. It hasn’t been easy,” she added.
Central America
Seven arrested in Guatemala over disappearance of six near Mexico border
Authorities in Guatemala arrested seven individuals allegedly linked to the disappearance of six Guatemalans, including a 16-year-old minor, according to a police statement.
The arrests took place in the border city of Malacatán, near the nearly 1,000-kilometer frontier shared with Mexico, a region increasingly affected by criminal activity.
Police reported that ten firearms were seized from the suspects, who are believed to be connected to the disappearance of the six victims. According to witness accounts, the missing individuals worked on a farm in Malacatán and were taken away in a vehicle whose license plate matches that of the one used by those detained.
The border area has seen escalating violence involving organized crime groups. In August 2024, following the unprecedented displacement of Mexican farmers into Guatemala to escape clashes between rival drug cartels, both countries agreed to carry out joint security operations along the shared border.
Despite this cooperation, tensions have arisen. On June 8, security forces from the Mexican state of Chiapas crossed into Guatemalan territory during an anti-crime operation that left four suspected criminals dead. The incident prompted a formal protest from Guatemala, after which Mexico issued an apology.
Central America
Gunfire and protests mark controversial rector reelection at Guatemala’s USAC
University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC), which serves around 200,000 students, plays a key role in the selection of top judicial authorities in Guatemala, including positions within the prosecutor’s office and other institutions often questioned over corruption.
The reelection of the university’s rector on Wednesday was marred by gunfire and clashes outside the hotel where the vote took place in Antigua Guatemala, west of the capital. Authorities reported no injuries following the unrest.
The electoral process, which granted a new term to Walter Mazariegos, was criticized by the Organization of American States, which described it as a “flawed process.”
USAC holds significant influence in Guatemala’s institutional framework, as it appoints two magistrates to the Constitutional Court—the country’s highest judicial body—and participates in the selection of members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, both processes carried out earlier this year.
Videos shared by local media showed an individual firing a weapon into the air inside the hotel during the vote. Academic representatives and students gathered at the venue, while hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside, denouncing the exclusion of some delegates in what they claimed was an effort to favor Mazariegos.
The unrest escalated after alleged security personnel used fire extinguishers against police officers attempting to enter the hotel alongside a judge, who sought to verify reports that opposition voters were being held inside, according to local press reports.
“The election was illegitimate,” said Rodolfo Chang through a loudspeaker after being declared “legitimate rector” in a separate vote held outside the venue.
A day earlier, the Organization of American States had urged authorities to act to “prevent the completion of a flawed process.”
Central America
Honduras coffee exports jump nearly 30% in March despite price drop
Coffee exports from Honduras rose by 29.6% year-on-year in March, according to data released Monday by the Instituto Hondureño del Café.
During the third month of the 2025–2026 harvest season, Honduras exported 1,373,817 46-kilogram bags of coffee, up from 1,059,744 bags shipped in March of the previous cycle.
Despite the increase in volume, the average price per bag fell to $307.55, compared to $364.70 recorded in the prior harvest.
Between October and March, total export revenues reached $1.36 billion, representing a 32% increase from the $1.032 billion reported during the same period of the 2024–2025 season.
The United States remained the main destination for Honduran coffee, accounting for 36.5% of total shipments. It was followed by Germany with 16.1% and Belgium with 12.4%.
In regional terms, Europe absorbed 52% of exports, while North America accounted for 42%, according to the institute’s report.
Honduras remains the largest coffee producer in Central America and ranks among the top six producers worldwide.
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