Guatemalan lawmaker, three police officers killed in armed attack

A Guatemalan lawmaker and ​three police officers ‌were killed ​in an armed attack in the eastern department of Zacapa, President Bernardo Arévalo ‌said, condemning the violence and ordering security forces to help identify those responsible.

Lawmaker Julio César Portillo Paz was attacked on Friday in Río Hondo, ‌Zacapa, and initially taken to a hospital with serious injuries. His ‌death was later confirmed by the National Unity of Hope party, or UNE, to which he belonged. Arévalo said the three National Civil Police officers ⁠killed in ​the attack had ⁠died in the line of duty and instructed security forces to cooperate ⁠with prosecutors investigating the killings.

“We will not allow criminal violence to prevail ​over the lives and safety of Guatemalans,” Arévalo said in a ⁠post on X. Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the attack or identified ⁠who ​was responsible.

The killing comes about three weeks after former anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa was shot dead in Guatemala ⁠City, a case that heightened concerns over organized crime’s influence and ⁠the possible ⁠return of politically motivated assassinations. Authorities have not established a connection between the two attacks.