Shootout in Guatemala Kills Nine, Drug Gangs Eyed

Nine people died in a gun battle in Guatemala on Tuesday that could be linked to Mexican drug traffickers, police said.

Alerted after a shootout in the region of Zacapa, 80 miles (127 km) from Guatemala City, police captured six heavily armed men driving in a vehicle, among them three Mexicans, police spokesman Faustino Sanchez told local radio.

Other gunmen were found wounded at the scene of the fight.

"We have nine confirmed dead and seven wounded. We're looking into whether this is about drug traffickers or other organized crime groups," Sanchez said. "We captured an international gang."

Mexico's government has deployed thousands of soldiers and federal police to hot spots across Mexico, where cartel violence has killed more than 500 people so far this year and left more than 2,500 dead in 2007.

Cocaine smuggled to the United States from South America is often moved through Guatemala and other Central American countries.