Guatemalan Lawmaker and Three Police Officers Killed in Armed Attack in Zacapa
Congressman Julio César Portillo Paz died in a hospital after gunmen attacked his convoy in Río Hondo on Friday, and three police officers in his security detail were also killed. No motive has been given and no one has been arrested.
Gunmen killed Guatemalan congressman Julio César Portillo Paz and three police officers guarding him in an attack Friday afternoon in Río Hondo, in the eastern department of Zacapa, authorities said.
The attack took place at kilometer 137 of the Atlantic highway. Portillo was wounded and taken to a hospital, where he died hours later, according to The Insight International. Guatemala’s Congress confirmed his death late Friday.
The Interior Ministry said the officers died repelling a direct attack on the lawmaker by unidentified assailants. Vice President Karin Herrera named them as Jorge Paau Xicol, Erick Armides Ramos Osorio and Fernando Reyes Aldana. Two other officers in the security detail survived unhurt, Prensa Libre reported.
President Bernardo Arévalo condemned the attack and ordered security forces to cooperate fully with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is leading the investigation. “We will not allow criminal violence to prevail over the lives and safety of Guatemalans,” Arévalo said in a post on X.
No motive given as investigators open a case
Authorities have not identified the attackers or given a motive for the attack, and no arrests have been reported.
Portillo represented Zacapa, a department on drug trafficking routes where the Lorenzana family cartel, which has links to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, is known to operate. He won his seat in 2023 for the Cabal party and later moved to the National Unity of Hope, led by former first lady Sandra Torres, who is expected to run for president next year. Authorities have not said the cartel was involved in the attack.
The killings came about three weeks after former anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa was shot dead in Guatemala City. Authorities have not linked the two attacks.
Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and The Insight International.
