Mexico, Guatemala agree on border security over cartel violence

Mexico and Guatemala have agreed to carry out joint security operations on their border after hundreds of Mexicans fled to Guatemala over fears of forced recruitment by warring drug cartels.

The deal was reached on Friday after meeting the countries' foreign ministers and security and immigration authorities.

"The two countries agreed to carry out joint operations, on land and air, on both sides of the border," the governments said in a joint statement, adding they would reconvene for high-level security talks at the end of the month.

Mexico's Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said earlier in the day that since July 23, around 400 people had abandoned the town of Amatenango in Chiapas, with around half still in the Guatemalan municipality of Cuilco.

"What these families are most worried about is that they (criminal groups) have begun to recruit young people... That's why they have crossed over," she told a news conference.

The area was the scene of "constant confrontations" between two gangs, Barcena added.

Tightening security

The civilian departures were first reported in late July by Guatemalan authorities, who said they were tightening security along the border in response.

Chiapas, a tourist destination home to lush jungle, Indigenous communities and ancient Mayan ruins, has seen intensifying turf wars between two powerful cartels involved in drugs and people smuggling.

In late June, a clash in Chiapas left 19 people dead, including several Guatemalans.

Earlier that month, violence displaced several thousand people in the southern state.

Spiraling criminal violence has seen more than 450,000 people murdered in Mexico since the government of then-president Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive against drug gangs in 2006.

Many of the victims are young men who are frequently targeted by the cartels for forced recruitment.