But while Guatemalans are making incursions in the south there's something of a mystery unfolding in the west, near the border town of Benque Viejo.
A mother is grieving for the teenaged son who snuck out of the house only to turn up dead the next morning. Cherisse Halsall headed to Benque today to learn more about the sudden death of 14-year old Shamir Itza.
Benque's Itza family started the new year with tragedy. Their son and grandson, 14-year-old Mynor Shamir Itza died suddenly on New Year's Eve under strange and as yet unresolved circumstances.
Now, this family, struggling to mourn through uncertainty is crying out for the one thing that could possibly lighten the load of this tragedy.
Rosita Itza, Mother of the deceased
"What I want is for there to be justice, that's what I want. He didn't say anything about stomach pain he just said he was going to the bathroom. And I waited like 5 minutes for him to go in and then when we went to look again he wasn't there, and so I knew that this boy had snuck out. He left from here around 10, at 10:30 and he was not drinking."
It seems Shamir left to go to a family gathering at a home nearby, a home located at just a stone's throw from the Succotz police station.
ACP Joseph Myvete, Head NCIB
"The investigation has also shown that Myron Itza may have left his home just around that time when he said he was going to use the outside Latrine and visited the home of Jose Puc where a number of other persons were present and they were socializing and consuming alcoholic beverages according to Puc sometime after 2 a.m. was when he granted Itza permission to go into his bedroom to sleep."
Shamir's post curfew outing surprised his family because they say that at 6:00 he'd been home baking cakes. By nine he'd taken one of those cakes over to his godfather who is also a neighbor and it seems that's when he got a phone call:
Benjamin Itza, Grandfather of the deceased
"The boy received a call the same night. But he never knew who was calling on the phone so he told his godfather that he will come home. So he came home and tell his mother and his father they believe that because he tell he ma that he was going to the latrine."
"At the same time my next son said that he passed the next house and he took the road up. Without me knowing or her knowing we never knew that he was going."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Because this was after curfew."
Benjamin Itza, Grandfather of the deceased
"After curfew so we didn't believe that he left because about six o'clock he was baking cake."
Benjamin Itza says he never got to eat the cake that Shamir baked, because before he could get to it everything had changed. For their part the cops say that in the case of Shamir Itza there is more than one thing that's problematic.
ACP Joseph Myvete, Head NCIB
"Firstly, The curfew is still in effect so he should not have left his home after or during the curfew time which he apparently left after 10:00pm secondly he should not have been encouraged at the home of Puc and at 14 years old he should not have been encouraged to be consuming alcoholic beverage."
Shamir's family says it seems that even before all that, someone called Shamir out of his house.
Benjamin Itza, Grandfather of the deceased
"His godfather he knew that he got a call but he didn't know who I told him it could be a friend it could be something where they mean to I don't know, we can't. that's why it's something bad they did to him. It's something bad they did to him that's why we want this thing not to get hidden, have them they it in light because we want Justice."
A date for the post mortem examination has not been scheduled but police are investigating. So far a number of items that they believe important to the case, have been retrieved from the home where Itza died. Itza's host, Jose Puc, has been detained and interviewed.
The cops also told us that whether or not foul play is proven it is expected that Puc will be charged with at least a minor crime.
