Six people have been lynched and killed by members of an indigenous community in northern Guatemala

Local residents of San Pedro Carcha in Alta Verapaz province marched five men and a woman to a corn field, where they were beaten, blindfolded and shot dead. The villagers suspected the six of killing a local businessman. Prosecutors say that 194 people have been lynched since 2004, mainly in areas where there was little police presence. Guatemala's Prosecutors Office for Human Rights says that the cases of lynchings have been rising year on year, with a marked increase in indigenous communities, where there is little trust in the authorities. In the latest case, villagers tracked down a man known as The Clown, who they believed was behind the murder of local businessman Nicolas Choc. They beat him until he confessed and revealed the names of his five alleged accomplices, who were then also hunted down and shot dead. Police said that the locals prevented them from entering the village, but did allow emergency services to take the bodies to the morgue.