Clara Luz López, a candidate for the Casillas City Council in the Encounter for Guatemala party of Rigoberta Menchú, was shot and killed Monday on her way home from a day of campaigning. “This is a clear message for our candidates and for us,” Menchu said. This election has been the bloodiest since the end of the civil war, with at least forty people killed.

According to Reuters, “Some of the killings are attributed to wealthy drug gangs seeking to control political parties to help transport Colombian cocaine through Guatemala to Mexico and the United States. U.S. officials estimate the majority of cocaine that reaches American cities passes through Central America.”

Why is this getting so little press coverage outside Guatemala?