Armed attack on Guatemalan deputy Julio Portillo leaves three dead, reports conflict on his fate

The attack in Zacapa

An armed attack aimed at opposition deputy Julio Portillo took place on Friday, 6 November, in the village of Río Hondo in Zacapa province, eastern Guatemala, an area where drug trafficking is entrenched. Officials said the assailants were unknown and had fled without being identified. The 35-year-old deputy won his seat in 2023 for the opposition Cabal party, but he has since joined the National Unity of Hope party (UNE), which was founded by former first lady Sandra Torres. A fire service official initially said the deputy was in Río Hondo when the attack happened and had not been hurt.

Conflicting reports on the dead

A government ministry confirmed that the three people killed were agents of the National Civil Police, who died from gunfire while repelling what the ministry called a direct attack on the lawmaker. EL PAÍS, citing the authorities, gave a different breakdown: two police officers and one of the deputy's bodyguards. The same report said Portillo had been taken to a local hospital without serious injuries and that police sources believed he was out of danger. Deutsche Welle later reported that his death had been announced at a hospital, though its cause was not yet known, and Congress posted on X that it lamented the death of deputy Julio César Portillo Paz. The reports therefore conflict on both the number of dead officers and the deputy's condition, and the cause of death had not been established in the reporting available.

Zacapa and the cartel backdrop

Deutsche Welle describes Zacapa as territory controlled by the cartel of the Lorenzana family, which is linked to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. On 27 September, eight people were killed in clashes that authorities attributed to rivalries between gangs, and Deutsche Welle noted that the fighting took place more than a month before the attack. Two weeks before the attack, former prosecutor Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa, 43, was shot dead at a sports complex in front of his son, according to EL PAÍS. Two suspects in that killing were released shortly afterward for lack of merit, a development that EL PAÍS links to criticism of police conduct during the investigation. The attack has renewed concern about political violence in a country that will hold elections next year to choose a president, vice president, mayors and deputies.

Government and congressional response

President Bernardo Arévalo relieved two senior military commanders over the eight killings and put about 100 soldiers at the disposal of prosecutors to support the investigation, Deutsche Welle reported. EL PAÍS reported separately that Arévalo dismissed the director and deputy director of the National Civil Police amid criticism of police actions during the killing of the former prosecutor. In a statement, Congress president Luis Alberto Contreras said:

“The legislature rejects and condemns this act of violence.”

Lawmakers called on authorities to carry out a prompt, transparent and impartial investigation. No suspects in the attack on the deputy have been identified in the reporting so far.