Guatemalan Anti-Corruption Lawyer Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa Killed

Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa, a former prosecutor and former head of Guatemala’s tax administration who built a career on anti-corruption work, was shot dead on Saturday, October 17, 2026, during an armed attack at a sports complex in Guatemala City. He was 43.

The attack happened at about 9:40 a.m. at a synthetic football pitch inside the Campo Marte complex in the capital’s zone 5, according to the National Civil Police. A second man, identified as Gustavo Adolfo Aguilar Gamarro, 45, was killed alongside him. Police said several gunmen on motorcycles entered the complex, surrounded the victims and opened fire, leaving a scene scattered with dozens of ballistic markings.

Within about ten minutes, police said they had arrested two suspects on the Bulevar San Isidro in zone 16. They were identified as Rigoberto Choc Toz and Daniel Zaqueo Choc Toz, brothers from Senahú, Alta Verapaz. Officers seized a carbine, a magazine, 9 mm ammunition, a tactical vest and a motorcycle, and said neither brother had outstanding warrants.

A life spent on corruption cases

Solórzano Foppa served as a prosecutor in the Public Ministry between 2008 and 2012 and later led the Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria, the tax authority. As a lawyer he remained involved in cases linked to organised crime and corruption, and he was an active commentator on security and narcotics on social media.

Days before his death, he posted a video alleging that a September operation in Huité, Zacapa, involved mercenaries linked to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and left several people dead. Those claims were his own interpretation of events and have not been verified.

Reaction and questions

President Bernardo Arévalo condemned what he called the cowardly murder and said he had instructed state institutions to act immediately and to cooperate so that those responsible, including any who ordered the killing, face the full weight of the law. The U.S. embassy in Guatemala condemned the killing and called for a complete and transparent investigation, as did the human rights prosecutor’s office and the bar association.

Authorities have not established a motive and are continuing to investigate whether others were involved in planning the attack. The killing has renewed concern about the safety of those who pursue corruption cases in a country where such work has long carried risk.

A dangerous line of work

Guatemala has one of the region’s more difficult records on anti-corruption work. The country’s internationally backed anti-corruption body was expelled in 2019, and prosecutors who have pursued powerful figures have often faced pressure, legal threats and, in some cases, exile.

Solórzano Foppa’s career placed him squarely in that tradition. His time at the tax authority and the Public Ministry put him in contact with cases touching organised crime, smuggling and public funds, and he continued to speak out after leaving office. His killing has focused attention once more on the risks borne by those who take on such cases, and on whether the institutions meant to protect them, and the rule of law itself, can hold.

Sources

The Associated Press, “Asesinan en Guatemala a exfiscal y abogado que denunciaba corrupción”; Prensa Libre, “Asesinan a Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa”; and Infobae, reporting on the arrests (October 17, 2026).