Guatemalan lawmaker and three police officers killed in Zacapa attack
Congressman Julio César Portillo Paz and three police officers were killed in an armed attack in Río Hondo, Zacapa; President Bernardo Arévalo ordered security forces to help prosecutors find those responsible.
Guatemalan Congressman Julio César Portillo Paz and three National Civil Police (PNC) officers were killed in an armed attack in Río Hondo, in the eastern department of Zacapa, on Friday 6 November, authorities said. Portillo was taken to hospital with serious injuries; his death was later confirmed by his party, the National Unity of Hope (UNE), and by Congress.
Vice President Karin Herrera identified the officers as Jorge Paau Xicol, Erick Armides Ramos Osorio and Fernando Antonio Reyes Aldana. President Bernardo Arévalo said they died in the line of duty and ordered security forces to cooperate with prosecutors investigating the killings. Authorities have not disclosed a motive or identified those responsible.
Portillo, who represented Zacapa, won his seat in 2023 for the Cabal party before switching to UNE. The attack came about three weeks after former anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa was shot dead in Guatemala City; authorities have not established a connection between the two cases.