Guatemalan lawmaker and three police officers killed in armed attack

Congressman Julio Portillo and three police officers were killed in an armed attack in eastern Guatemala, prompting a criminal investigation and renewed concern about security in the region. Authorities have not announced a motive or identified those responsible.

The attack took place on Friday in Rio Hondo, Zacapa, an area known for drug-trafficking activity. Portillo was taken to hospital with serious injuries before his death was confirmed; President Bernardo Arevalo said the officers died in the line of duty. Portillo was elected for Cabal in 2023 and later joined the National Unity of Hope party. The killings follow the shooting death of former anticorruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Solorzano Foppa about three weeks earlier, though authorities have not linked the cases.