Dear Friend, On the morning of October 17, while on the soccer field the Campo Marte Sports Complex, in Zone 5 of Guatemala City, attorney Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa was shot to death by unidentified men. Another man, Gustavo Adolfo Aguilar Gamarro, was also killed in the shooting. Three other people were wounded. Foppa had a protection plan involving National Police officers who functioned as his security guards. The plan was created in 2008, when he was investigating criminal structures in the Public Ministry, and it was reinforced in 2025 because of his political profile. According to Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda, Foppa had asked the security guards to watch his son, and they were some 30 to 40 meters away from Foppa, who was standing on the sidelines when he was killed. According to the General Director of the National Police, David Custodio Boteo, one of the agents said he pursued the gunmen, fired his weapon, and was able to give a description of the assailants. Two Indigenous men, brothers Daniel and Rigoberto Choc Toz, were arrested shortly after the murder took place. The men worked as food deliverers and were riding a motorcycle, as witnesses said the assassins were. The suspects said police stopped them once, checked their documents and searched them, and then let them go but stopped them again a few minutes later and found a carbine rifle in the food delivery pouch, as well as a magazine, 9-millimeter ammunition, and a tactical vest. The brothers also said the police asked them for money. The men were held until October 18 before being released for lack of evidence. The proceedings were kept confidential but sources cited in Guatemalan press reports maintain police officers involved in the search had planted the evidence on the men. An investigation into this possibility is reportedly underway. Guatemalan news media have reported, in addition, that the weapon found was determined not the same weapon used in the crime. In a statement dated October 18, the Public Prosecutor’s Office reported that it had collected, secured, and submitted evidence for technical and scientific analysis. It noted that the proceedings sought to clarify the circumstances of the attack, determine the motive, and identify all individuals involved. The MP confirmed that it had technical support from international partners, without identifying them. Citing a source familiar with the case, Prensa Libre reported that this support is from the FBI. Social media posts since the murder reflect politically expedient messaging around Foppa’s killing. Ricardo Méndez Ruiz, who heads the Foundation Against Terrorism (FCT) and who has been internationally sanctioned for corruption, posted on X, “Under the current administration, levels of violence are being experienced that haven't been seen in decades.” This accusation notwithstanding, the actual homicide rate is trending downward and the overall crime index is falling. The day of Foppa’s murder, an account associated with Méndez Ruiz and his circle, known as Yes Master, posted a message, since deleted, that featured a picture of Foppa and said, “He’s on his way to the Little Beach,” adding the hashtag #OnFire—a hashtag the account has used repeatedly when those fighting corruption are arrested or driven into exile. Accounts reposting the message state that it was published before Foppa’s murder. “Yes Master” maintains that he published it twenty minutes after the murder. Although Méndez Ruiz denies running the Yes Master account, he has said the person who does is a “good friend and ally” of the FCT. Méndez Ruiz was among those Foppa had pointed to as being linked to narcotrafficking. Solórzano Foppa was known for exposing corruption, including shedding light on links between corrupt politicians and drug trafficking gangs. He had worked as a Public Ministry prosecutor leading intelligence efforts in high-profile investigations, including key expert testimony in the “La Línea” case that forced President Otto Pérez Molina to resign in 2015. He had been director of the Superintendency of Tax Administration from 2016 to 2018 was a defense lawyer for journalist Ruben Zamora in 2023, before falling victim to the same criminalization that plagued Zamora’s defense team. Foppa was accused of obstructing justice and was arrested. In an interview at the time of his arrest, he attributed his detention to enemies he had made when he pushed forward policies that forced tax evaders to contribute their share. He named former presidential candidate Zury Rios and the Foundation Against Terrorism as among those blocking his mayoral candidacy and orchestrating his arrest. Foppa was outspoken about current events, regularly posting videos giving his analysis of the political and social situation in Guatemala. His posts included analyses linking powerful politicians with drug trafficking networks. In his most recent post, on October 16th, he hypothesized that the September massacre in Huité, Zacapa, in which eight people were killed by masked gunmen, was a CIA operation. The operation, he said, was an attempt to capture Haroldo Lorenzana Terrazo, for whom the United States has offered a $5 million reward and who the US believes is linked to the Mexican Sinaloa carter. Explaining this theory, he cited air support for the operation, which consisted of two helicopters. The Guatemalan army initially denied being involved. The Guatemalan government has not revealed the extent of the Guatemalan army’s involvement, but key officers have been fired and more than a hundred soldiers are being investigated. Foppa speculated that the point of the failed operation was to generate fear and chaos, with a view to the 2027 general election. In a statement issued on the evening of October 17, the US Embassy expressed “most sincere condolences to [Foppa’s] family and loved ones, and stated, “Freedom of expression is a fundamental and universal right.” President Bernardo Arévalo has condemned the murder and stated that both the perpetrators and those who ordered the crime must be brought to justice. He also announced that he had instructed his administration to coordinate with the relevant authorities to solve the case. Action: Write to the US Embassy in Guatemala. Ask the Embassy to use request Guatemalan authorities to guarantee the following: - A prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the murder of Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa that identifies everyone responsible, including those who ordered the killing, and takes into account the threats he received, the enemies he had publicly named, and possible retaliation for his exercise of freedom of expression;
- A full account of any failures by his police security detail and of possible planted evidence in the first arrests, along with the preservation of all relevant evidence;
- Protection for his family and for witnesses, and public disclosure of how much the US is helping with the investigation
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