Unintended consequences of the sucking sound at the southern border.

Guatemalan Cops Accused of Demanding Money from Migrants

GUATEMALA CITY – Three agents of Guatemala’s PNC national police were arrested after they demanded money from a family of Honduran migrants, authorities said Monday.

Their capture took place Sunday night on a highway in Peten province on the Mexican border, at some 615 kilometers (382 miles) north of Guatemala City, after their victims filed a complaint, the PNC said in a statement.

Manuel de Jesus Lima Flores, 36, Armando Rodriguez Contreras, 35, and Carlos Poou Chen, 30, were taken into custody by officers from the office of the PNC inspector-general.

The three cops demanded 800 quetzals ($102) from the Hondurans in exchange for allowing them to continue their journey to Mexico, the PNC said.

At the time of their arrest, 2,100 quetzals ($268.50) were taken from the police.

The Honduran family, whose number was not specified by the authorities, was traveling on a bus to the Mexican border on their way to the United States.

The police report did not say whether the Hondurans resumed their journey.

The arrest of the three police agents came three days after Guatemala’s national ombudsman, Jorge de Leon Duque, said publicly that Hondurans and Salvadorans crossing the country are often victims of extortion by PNC agents.