Baby found alive beside parents’ bodies in field after US deportation

Nixon Giovanni Perez was deported from the US last year while Glendy Marisol Gonzalez self-deported to be with her family (Picture: The Perez Family)

A man who was deported from the US has been found dead alongside his wife in a sugarcane field in Guatemala.

Their one-year-old daughter was discovered alive beside the bodies of the parents,who had been reported missing several days earlier.

Nixon Giovanni Perez,43,and his wife,Glendy Marisol Gonzalez,25,were discovered outside the south-western city of Retalhuleu on Tuesday. Their hands had been tied behind their backs.

Police said that Perez had a possible gunshot wound to his neck,while Gonzalez had suffered a fatal head wound.

Retalhuleu lies around 112 miles west of the country’s capital,Guatemala City.

Glendy Marisol Gonzalez self-deported in June to be reunited with her family (Picture: The Perez Family)

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Their baby daughter was found alive next to them. She and the couple’s two other children have been placed in the care of extended family,Guatemala’s prosecutor’s office said.Investigators recovered shell casings and a pink and white Champion shoe from the area. The couple had no personal belongings with them. A red striped motorbike was also found and seized by police.Authorities haven’t yet said what they believe happened to Perez and Gonzalez.The couple had been living in Missouri before Perez was deported from the US last year. His brother Rolando said he had originally fled violence and poverty in Guatemala.The couple were found dead in a sugarcane field outside Retalhuleu (Picture: REUTERS)Investigators recovered shell casings and seized a red striped motorbike at the scene (Picture: REUTERS)Perez worked in roofing and was detained alongside his brother while they were travelling to jobs in Overland,Missouri. Immigration agents took both men into custody,according to Rolando.Gonzalez remained in the US with their children following her husband’s deportation. She later self-deported back home in order to be back with her family.The young mother had been working two jobs while also helping the Missouri Workers Center. She was a member of an immigrant rights organising committee run by the group.The organisation said Gonzalez began attending its ‘Fuerza’ meetings (organising sessions for immigrant workers) just three weeks after giving birth.Their one-year-old daughter was discovered alive beside their bodies (Picture: TNS)‘She was working two jobs,bringing new members,showing up — even as her world was being torn apart,’ the group wrote in a social media tribute.Gonzalez had an asylum court date scheduled for 2027,according to the organisation. But it said that she feared she could lose custody of her three daughters if she remained in the United States.‘In June,to protect her daughters and keep the rest of her family together – and fearing she might lose custody of the girls – Glendy made the impossible decision to go back to Guatemala,even with an asylum court date set for 2027,’ it added.Almost 32,000 people were deported back to Guatemala during the first six months of 2026,UN data shows. That’s an increase of 47% compared with the same period in 2025.More than 90% of those deportees were sent from the US,with the remainder deported from Mexico.The sharp rise coincides with Donald Trump and ICE’s controversial mass deportation drive.The Missouri Workers Center are planning on holding a vigil for Perez and Gonzalez (Picture: KMOV/FirstAlert4)The deaths have highlighted the dangers that some deportees can face on returning to Guatemala,a country known for incredibly high rates of murder and violent crime.Guatemala’s experienced a recent spike in killings,which its government has attributed to organised crime.Officials announced a plan on Monday to strengthen security measures across the country.US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and police in Overland didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Guatemalan authorities have said that they’re investigating the deaths and will issue an update in due course.The Missouri Workers Center will hold a vigil for the couple on Sunday.