Guatemala detains two suspects after Solórzano Foppa’s killing
Former Guatemalan prosecutor Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa and another man were shot dead at the Campo Marte sports complex in Guatemala City. Police detained two suspects and seized a firearm and motorcycle. President Bernardo Arévalo ordered investigative coordination and demanded justice for the gunmen and anyone who ordered the attack.
Geopolitics··Midday
Two men are killed at a sports pitch in Guatemala City
Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa, a former Guatemalan prosecutor and anti-corruption lawyer, was shot dead on 17 October at Campo Marte, a sports complex in Guatemala City. Gustavo Adolfo Aguilar also died in the attack. Guatemala’s National Civil Police said the shooting took place on an artificial-turf pitch in zone 5 of the capital. Municipal firefighters received reports of gunfire and went to the complex, where they found two men without signs of life.[1], [2]
Police said Solórzano Foppa had security agents assigned to protect him. Authorities recorded more than forty ballistic pieces of evidence at the scene. The initial police account did not specify how many attackers entered the pitch, how they carried out the shooting or how they escaped.[2]
Police detain two brothers and seize a weapon
Police said they detained two suspects shortly after the attack on San Isidro boulevard in zone 16 of the capital. They identified the men as brothers Rigoberto Choc Toz, thirty, and Daniel Zaqueo Choc Toz, twenty-eight, from Senahú in Guatemala’s Alta Verapaz department. Authorities seized a carbine-type firearm, a black Haojue motorcycle, a magazine, ammunition and a tactical vest allegedly used in the attack. The detentions did not establish the suspects’ guilt.[2]
Guatemala’s army confirmed that Rigoberto Choc had served in its Central Regional Command from February 2017 to February 2019, leaving at his own request. President Bernardo Arévalo condemned the killing and demanded justice for the gunmen and whoever ordered the crime. He instructed government institutions to coordinate with the investigating authorities.[1], [2]
Solórzano Foppa had led Guatemala’s tax administration
Solórzano Foppa was 43. He had headed a criminal investigations directorate within the Public Prosecutor’s Office before leading Guatemala’s tax administration from 2016–18. His work included cases involving influential business figures and the recovery of unpaid taxes. In 2023 he briefly joined the defence team of journalist José Rubén Zamora, leaving after prosecutors accused him of obstructing proceedings and destroying or concealing information. He denied the accusation, then accepted it in a plea agreement, saying he did not expect a fair trial.[1]
