Office of the Mexican President

Luis Cresencio Sandoval is Mexico’s secretary of Defense.

MEXICO CITY — Mexico has been facing accusations from human rights activists since the current administration beefed up military presence on the Guatemalan border. And new tensions flared in the area this week after a soldier shot and killed a Guatemalan citizen. 

According to Mexican authorities, a group of soldiers stationed near the border shot a vehicle with three men that approached and unexpectedly backed up.   

Luis Cresencio Sandoval, Mexico’s secretary of Defense, said the military mistakenly reacted since they weren’t being attacked. 

Sandoval said the post was later surrounded by hundreds of inhabitants of the region that held the military as hostages. Mexico says they were held in its territory, but Guatemala claims it was on its side of the border.

The soldiers were released after the Mexican government offered about $50,000 to the slain Guatemalan man’s family as compensation. 

The soldier who killed the man is expected to face justice in Mexico.