Originally published February 19, 2011 at 1:54 PM | Page modified February 19, 2011 at 5:01 PM

Guatemalan club official killed after threats

Gunmen shot to death the vice president of a last-place soccer team in Guatemala's national league, weeks after the man had received threats related to the squad's poor performance, authorities said Saturday.

The Associated Press

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GUATEMALA CITY —

National Civil Police spokesman Donald Gonzalez said no suspects have yet been detained in the killing of Carlos Noe Gomez of the Deportivo Xinabajul team.

Gonzalez said the club executive was shot to death late Friday by two men who were waiting for him as he left a team meeting in the northern province of Huehuetenango.

Prosecutor Nery Martinez said the investigation is focusing on threats Gomez had reported receiving several weeks ago by disappointed fans. Xinabajul is at the bottom of the rankings in the country's national league, and lost a home match 2-0 against Suchitepequez this week.

Guatemala's national league condemned the killing in a statement and called for a "serious and profound" investigation.

The killing follows the gruesome discovery in November of the body of Carlos Mercedes Vasquez, a midfielder with the Malacateco team in the country's first-division league. Police said his body had been chopped up and left in five plastic bags in a rural area with a note saying the player had been killed for "messing with other women."

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