A 14-month-old infant was found crying beside the bodies of his parents in a Guatemalan sugarcane field, marking a grim outcome for a family previously living in Overland, Missouri. The couple, Nixon Giovanni Pérez Paz and Glendy Marisol González de la Cruz, had been returned to the country under mass deportation policies.
Pérez Paz, 43, and González de la Cruz, 25, were discovered near Retalhuleu with signs of physical trauma; investigators believe they were bound and gagged before being killed. The tragedy has ignited sharp criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement, which has deported approximately 28,000 individuals to Guatemala in the first six months of 2026 alone.
US Representative Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) condemned the administration’s actions, characterizing the deportation campaign as a "body count" rather than standard legal enforcement. While federal officials justified the initial arrest of Pérez Paz by citing alleged criminal history, Missouri court records contradict claims of drunk driving convictions, showing only a fine paid for driving without a valid license.
González de la Cruz had remained in the United States to give birth to their son, Giovanni, in 2025, but she eventually returned to Guatemala to reunite her family despite having an active asylum case pending for 2027. The couple went missing on July 20 while running errands. Their deaths coincide with a broader shift in federal policy as the White House intensifies deportation efforts targeting Haitian refugees following the expiration of their Temporary Protected Status.
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