Guatemalan Congressman and Three Others Reported Killed

Guatemalan Congressman Julio César Portillo Paz and three people were reported killed after an armed attack in Río Hondo, Zacapa, on November 6, but accounts conflict over whether Portillo survived. President Bernardo Arévalo said the three dead were National Civil Police officers and ordered security forces to assist prosecutors investigating the killings. The National Unity of Hope party, known as UNE, confirmed Portillo’s death after he was taken to hospital with serious injuries, according to several reports.

A conflicting account said Portillo survived. Río Hondo firefighters told reporters he was unhurt, while Guatemala’s Interior Ministry described him as stable and receiving care. Local reporting cited in that account identified the three victims as two police officers and one of Portillo’s bodyguards, rather than three officers. The competing descriptions of Portillo’s condition and the victims’ identities had not been resolved in the reports published by November 7.

The attack took place in Río Hondo, in the eastern department of Zacapa. The Interior Ministry said police officers died while repelling a direct attack on Portillo. The ministry said the Public Ministry,...