GUATEMALAN FM ROSENTHAL WRITES THE AMBASSADOR

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000305 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR DAN FISK DEPT FOR WHA/CEN, G/TIP, AND CA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KJUS KCRM PHUM SMIG GT SUBJECT: GUATEMALAN FM ROSENTHAL WRITES THE AMBASSADOR ABOUT FATAL ATTACK ON IMMIGRANTS IN ARIZONA REF: GUATEMALA 2471 ¶1. Summary: Guatemalan Foreign Minister Rosenthal wrote the Ambassador urging the prompt investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the February 8 armed attack on a group of undocumented immigrants in a desert area near Tucson, Arizona. One Guatemalan was killed, while another Guatemalan was injured during the early morning attack. End summary. ¶2. Background: On February 8, a group of more than 20 undocumented aliens, including an undetermined number of Guatemalans, was attacked by masked armed gunmen in a desert area about 20 miles northwest of Tucson, Arizona. Three persons, including Guatemalan Rudi Raxaleu, were killed. Another Guatemalan, Sebastiana Quixtan, who was injured during the attack, is reportedly in stable condition and recuperating in a hospital in Tucson. Guatemalan media are portraying this incident as confirmation that there is open season on immigrants. Conservative, pro-business daily "Siglo XXI" ran a banner headline on page one screaming "They fear xenophobia." ¶3. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Marta Altolaguirre told local press of her suspicion that the killers belong to a criminal group that extorts Guatemalans seeking to illegally immigrate to the U.S. and that organized crime is using new methods to profit from alien smuggling. ¶4. Embassy's informal translation of the letter: BEGIN TEXT Mr. Ambassador: I present my compliments and have the honor to refer to the incident that occurred in the city of Tucson, Arizona in the early morning hours of February 8, which resulted in the death by firearm of Mr. Rudi Otoniel Raxaleu Castro, and injury to Ms. Sebastiana Quixtan Gomez, both Guatemalan citizens. We understand that the incident occurred when two pick-up trucks were traveling to Phoenix through the area of the Tohono O'dham Reservation. The first vehicle was intercepted by masked armed gunmen and forced off the road into the desert. U.S. authorities have located a minor, Olinda Arsenia Mateo Gomez, and Celvin Ernesto Boj, to whom U.S. immigration authorities have offered visas to remain in the U.S. The whereabouts of the other immigrants are unknown. The Guatemalan Government condemns this attack and requests your intervention so that the described facts can be investigated by the proper authorities and that those responsible for the armed aggression can be brought to justice in accordance with the law. I take this opportunity to renew the assurances of my highest consideration. Gert Rosenthal Koenigsberger Minister of Foreign Affairs cc: Ambassador Guillermo Castillo Embassy of Guatemala in the U.S. END TEXT Derham