A Missouri family's attempt to reunite across borders has ended in a killing now under investigation in Guatemala. Authorities there say Nixon Giovanni Perez Paz, 43, and his wife, 25-year-old Glendy Marisol Gonzalez de la Cruz, were found bound, gagged, and shot in a sugar cane field weeks after she left Overland, Missouri, to rejoin him following his deportation by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year, per St. Louis Public Radio. Their 14-month-old daughter was discovered beside her mother, dehydrated but alive, and is being treated at a medical center, Guatemalan media report.
The couple, who'd fled poverty and violence in Guatemala, were reported missing on July 20 after going out to register a motorcycle. Perez Paz had been detained by ICE in March 2025 while heading to roofing jobs with his brother; both men lacked legal status. Gonzalez de la Cruz, facing financial strain and fearing detention while pursuing an asylum case, later decided to return to Guatemala with their three daughters to join her spouse.
Their deaths are fueling criticism of US immigration enforcement from advocates, who say the case undercuts public-safety arguments for deportation. "Now two people are dead and three young girls are without parents for the rest of their lives," says a spokesperson for the States at the Core nonprofit, which assists local communities in fighting authoritarianism and political violence. Guatemalan prosecutors are investigating; ICE and local officials haven't commented. A vigil for the couple is planned Aug. 2 at Overland City Hall.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
