Guatemalan lawmaker, three police officers killed in attack

• Guatemalan lawmaker Julio Portillo and three police officers were killed in an armed attack in Rio Hondo, Zacapa, an area known for drug trafficking.
• Authorities said the attack was a “direct attack against the lawmaker”; suspects escaped and have not been identified.
• Congress mourned Portillo’s death. He won his seat in 2023 for Cabal, then joined the National Unity of Hope party led by Sandra Torres.

Guatemala City - A Guatemalan lawmaker and three police officers were killed in an armed attack on Nov 6, authorities said.

The attack targeted Congressman Julio Portillo, who was in the town of Rio Hondo, in the eastern Zacapa department known to have drug trafficking activity.

“President Luis Contreras, members of the Board of Directors and lawmakers mourn the tragic passing of Congressman Julio Cesar Portillo Paz, representative of the Zacapa district,” Guatemala’s Congress posted on X late on Nov 6.

A fire service official had told reporters earlier on Nov 6 that Portillo had escaped unharmed.

Three police officers were killed in the “direct attack against the lawmaker”, the interior ministry said.

The suspects escaped and were not identified.

The Lorenzana family cartel, which has links to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, controls the drug trade in Zacapa.

Portillo won his seat in 2023 for the opposition party Cabal, but has since switched to the National Unity of Hope party led by former first lady Sandra Torres.

She is expected to run for president in Guatemala’s elections in 2027. AFP