A framed portrait of Elfego Miranda Diaz, one of Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January, sits on top of the coffin that contains his remains during a wake in his home in Comitancillo, Guatemala, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Thousands of residents of this Guatemalan town turned out Friday night amid tears and applause to receive the remains of 16 of their own, found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
COMITANCILLO, Guatemala (AP) - Families of some of the 16 Guatemalan migrants killed near the Mexico-U.S. border in late January began burying their remains Saturday in the town of Comitancillo, where 11 of the victims were from.
The migrants' charred bodies arrived Friday night to the region near Guatemala's border with Mexico after being sent from the other side of Mexico, Reynosa, just across the U.S. border from Texas.
'œNo more. No more violence against migrants," said the Rev. Mario Aguilón Cardona at services for mourners in the town's soccer stadium.
Ricardo GarcÃa said his daughter Santa Cristina GarcÃa, 20, had gone north to earn money for an operation for her younger sister. Her remains returned Friday in a coffin.
'œShe sacrificed herself for others. She was a good girl,'ť said Garcia.
The Guatemalan government declared three days of mourning.
The bodies, along with three others, were found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas, in an area that has been bloodied for years by turf battles between the remnants of the Gulf cartel and the old Zetas cartel.
A dozen Tamaulipas state police officers were arrested in connection with the killings.
President Alejandro Giammattei said Friday that his government remained in communication with Mexican authorities to ensure 'œthose responsible for such a deplorable act'ť are punished. He said the crime must be cleared up so that nothing similar happens again.
Relatives of the dead first raised the alarm that something horrible had happened in Camargo. Because the bodies had been burned, it took weeks for positive identifications through DNA samples, but the families in Guatemala had already started mourning.
The families had suddenly lost communication with their migrating relatives around Jan. 21, and believed they had been near the area where Mexican authorities made the grisly discovery.
Giammattei confirmed this month that five Guatemalans had survived the attack and were under protection in the United States.
The massacre raised memories of another migrant massacre in Tamaulipas in August 2010, when members of the Zetas cartel killed 72 migrants near the town of San Fernando.
A neighbor sits next to coffin with the remains of Rubelsy Tomas Isidro, one of the Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January, during a wake at his home in Comitancillo, Guatemala, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Thousands of residents of this Guatemalan town turned out Friday night amid tears and applause to receive the remains of 16 of their own, found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
Religious images and a portrait are placed next to coffin with the remains of Rubelsy Tomas Isidro, one of the Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January, during a wake at his home in Comitancillo, Guatemala, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Thousands of residents of this Guatemalan town turned out Friday night amid tears and applause to receive the remains of 16 of their own, found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
Mariachis perform at the wake celebrating the life of Elfego Miranda Diaz, one the Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January, in his home in Comitancillo, Guatemala, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Thousands of residents of this Guatemalan town turned out Friday night amid tears and applause to receive the remains of 16 of their own, found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
Neighbors attend the wake of Rubelsy Tomas Isidro, one of the Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January, at his home in Comitancillo, Guatemala, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Thousands of residents of this Guatemalan town turned out Friday night amid tears and applause to receive the remains of 16 of their own, found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
Metal roof homes dot the hilly landscape in the San Francisco community of Comitancillo, Guatemala, Saturday, March 13, 2021, where friends and family gathered to celebrate the life of Elfego Miranda Diaz, one of the Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January. Thousands of residents of this Guatemalan town turned out Friday night amid tears and applause to receive the remains of 16 of their own, found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
A woman attends the wake of Rubelsy Tomas Isidro, one of the Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January, at his home in Comitancillo, Guatemala, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Thousands of residents of this Guatemalan town turned out Friday night amid tears and applause to receive the remains of 16 of their own, found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
Friends and relatives attend the wake of Rubelsy Tomas Isidro, one of the Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January, at his home in Comitancillo, Guatemala, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Thousands of residents of this Guatemalan town turned out Friday night amid tears and applause to receive the remains of 16 of their own, found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
Women carry a bowl filled with vegetable to be cooked at the wake of Rubelsy Tomas Isidro, one of the Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January, at his home in Comitancillo, Guatemala, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Thousands of residents of this Guatemalan town turned out Friday night amid tears and applause to receive the remains of 16 of their own, found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
A relative grieves over the coffin containing the remains of Ivan Pablo Tomas, one of the Guatemalan migrants who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in January, at a memorial Mass in a soccer stadium in Comitancillo, Guatemala, Friday, March 12, 2021. The migrants were among 19 people shot and burned in Camargo, located in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas on Jan. 22. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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