Mexico’s war on drug trafficking crossed into Guatemala on Sunday, and now the Central American nation’s Foreign Relations Ministry is demanding answers about the illegal incident.
A Chiapas state police operation against suspected drug traffickers resulted in a car chase leading to Mexico’s southern border on Sunday afternoon. The police killed four gunmen, then pursued other suspects into Guatemalan territory, engaging them in a shoot-out in a Guatemalan border town.
Se extiende tiroteo hasta Guatemala
Policías de Chiapas cruzaron hasta Guatemala para enfrentarse a balazos con integrantes de un grupo criminal, lo cual dejó un saldo preliminar de al menos cuatro abatidos; ese punto de la frontera cerrado y el despliegue del Ejército… pic.twitter.com/EfQ9DM8v9f
— Mariana Morales (@MarianaMorale_s) June 9, 2025
At least three Chiapas police vehicles crossed into Guatemala in a dramatic scene that saw Guatemalan military personnel and National Civil Police vehicles arrive on site as the gun battle raged.
On Tuesday, Guatemala sent a diplomatic note to Mexico’s Foreign Relations Ministry (SRE), filing a formal protest and demanding that Mexico investigate. The SRE responded shortly thereafter with a formal apology.
In the letter of protest, Guatemala expressed “grave concern” for the lack of “reciprocal respect” at its shared border, deplored the “violations of international rights” and decried the failure to coordinate security actions with Guatemala authorities.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the actions of the Chiapas state police on Monday and, during her Tuesday morning press conference (before the diplomatic note had been delivered), called on the Chiapas officials to be punished.
“This should not happen,” Sheinbaum said Tuesday. “We have spoken to (the Chiapas governor), telling him that Mexican security forces should not enter Guatemala in such a reckless manner.”
She said Foreign Relations Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente had been in touch with the Guatemalan government to reiterate Mexico’s commitment to coordinating security actions.
El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores expresa su protesta a la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de México por la incursión al territorio nacional.#Comunicado 🔗 https://t.co/1KmSAxlIrC pic.twitter.com/A1FqtEQGw1
— MINEX Guatemala 🇬🇹 (@MinexGt) June 10, 2025
Sunday’s incident at the Guatemala border occurred after Chiapas state police were ambushed by armed civilians during an operation that had been ordered by Governor Eduardo Ramírez in response to the murder of five state police on June 2.
The state’s newly created Pakal Rapid Reaction Force was sent to the municipality of Frontera Comalapa, a region where four drug cartels have long battled to exercise control of valuable smuggling routes for migrants, guns and drugs.
According to the Chiapas Attorney General’s Office (FGE), the Pakales and other state security forces carried out an operation in the town of Sabanalito, just a few kilometers from the Guatemalan border. The Pakales were attacked, leading to the car chase that ended in a gun battle in the village of La Mesilla, Guatemala.
At least three Pakal vehicles crossed over the border as Guatemala’s Army and its National Civil Police Force joined the fray in a confusing scene.
Citing a video circulating on social media, the newspaper El Universal reported that one Guatemalan Army vehicle appeared to fire shots at the Pakales. Guatemalan authorities claim their officials did not intervene, according to the news site Animal Político.
In a video described by ABC News, armed men in ballistic vests and carrying rifles can be seen shouting at the open driver-side door of a Chiapas state police armored vehicle, with the border crossing visible in the background.
As gunfire sprayed Chiapas police trucks and civilian vehicles, a Guatemalan military truck with a soldier in the turret sits in the middle of the melee.
At least four suspects were killed in the shootout on the Chiapas side of the border, but several others escaped into Guatemala. The FGE said state authorities confiscated four rifles, a grenade launcher, two pistols, two bulletproof vests, 17 magazines and four armoured vehicles.
Further roiling the situation, on Monday, Chiapas Governor Eduardo Ramírez publicly accused Guatemalan security forces of colluding with drug gangs. Sheinbaum criticized Ramírez for this statement, saying on Tuesday, “We are not in agreement with this statement and his police should be sanctioned.”
Ramírez defended the Pakales, who, according to the newspaper El País, have faced accusations of collusion with organized crime gangs, as well as wanton violations of human rights. Just last month, the governor fired a Pakales commander who was accused by a subordinate of cooperating with crime gangs.
With reports from Infobae, ABC News, El País, El Universal and Animal Político
