Guatemalan couple found dead after US deportation with 1-year-old found alive beside them

A Guatemalan man who was deported from the United States and his wife, who later left the country voluntarily to join him, were found dead in a sugarcane field in southwestern Guatemala, authorities said Tuesday.Their 1-year-old daughter was found alive beside their bodies.Nixon Giovanni Perez, 43, and Glendy Marisol Gonzalez, 25, were discovered with their hands tied behind their backs in a field outside Retalhuleu, a city about 112 miles (180 kilometers) west of Guatemala City, according to photos reviewed by Reuters.

Guatemala’s prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the couple’s infant daughter and their two other children were placed in the care of relatives. Local media reported that the couple had been reported missing the previous week.The deaths highlight the risks and challenges faced by some immigrants after deportation from the United States, as President Donald Trump’s administration continues its large-scale deportation campaign.

open image in galleryThe deaths highlight the risks and challenges faced by some immigrants after deportation from the United States (Guatemala Prosecutor’s Office (MP)/Handout via Reuters)The couple's troubles began last year when Perez and his brother were detained by immigration agents in Overland, Missouri, on their way to roofing jobs, Perez's brother Rolando told St. Louis Public Radio.Perez, who had fled violence and poverty in Guatemala, was deported last year.

Gonzalez self-deported to Guatemala in recent weeks to join her husband, Rolando said.Representatives for U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Overland police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The Missouri Workers Center said it will hold a vigil on Sunday for Perez and Gonzalez, who was a member of an immigrants' rights organizing committee of the workers' group."Glendy came to our Fuerza meetings three weeks after giving birth.

She was working two jobs, bringing new members, showing up — even as her world was being torn apart," they said on social media. "In June, to protect her daughters and keep the rest of her family together — and fearing she might lose custody of the girls — Glendy made the impossible decision to go back to Guatemala, even with an asylum court date set for 2027."Nearly 32,000 people have been deported to Guatemala in the first six months of 2026, according to U.

N. data, a 47 percent increase from the same period last year. More than 90 percent of deportees were sent from the United States, and the rest from Mexico.

Guatemala's government, which attributes a wave of murders that spiked over the last week to organized crime, on Monday announced a plan to strengthen the country's security measures.Join our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments