The lawyer and former Guatemalan prosecutor Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa has been shot dead, along with another person whom the authorities classify as a "collateral victim," while serving as the technical director of a soccer team during a match in Guatemala City. At that moment, the bodyguards assigned to him were, at his request, guarding his son on the sidelines of the field.
"The Public Ministry reports on the armed attack that occurred at the Campo Marte sports complex, located in zone 5 of Guatemala City, in which Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa and Gustavo Adolfo Aguilar Gamarro lost their lives," the institution stated in a statement disseminated on social media.
Subsequently, the Ministry has specified that the ongoing investigation "has the technical support of international allies, within the framework of applicable cooperation mechanisms, which strengthens specialized capabilities for clarifying the case."
The National Civil Police (PNC), which has expressed its sorrow over the death of both individuals, has reported in another official note the capture of "Rigoberto Choc Toz, 30 years old, (and) Daniel Zaqueo Choc Toz, 28 years old," as well as the seizure of a carbine and a motorcycle linked to the attack.
The Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda, has detailed that the first of those arrested "was part of the Guatemalan army, having entered on February 1, 2017, into the Central Regional Command and having requested his discharge on February 28, 2019." In this context, he wanted to "confirm that this person is currently not an active member of that institution," just as the second detainee "has never at any time" belonged to the Army.
According to the PNC, "at least four people dressed in sports clothing participated in the attack to go unnoticed," so it "preliminarily confirms the participation of an organized criminal structure."
Regarding the weapon used, the Police have emphasized that, since it "does not correspond to the usual weaponry used by common crime," they have "requested the corresponding technical examinations and ballistic reports to determine its origin and usage history in coordination with the Public Ministry."
The police institution has also recalled that "the lawyer and former prosecutor Solórzano Foppa had an institutional security scheme since 2010 due to his work in investigations against criminal structures in the MP, which was reinforced in 2025 due to his political profile."
However, "the assigned security agents were located 30 to 40 meters away from the place, guarding his minor son at the moment the attack occurred," the PNC has specified.
Villeda has expanded on this information in an appearance before the media, where he explained that Solórzano Foppa "was not playing (...), but was directing the team," and that "he asked the escort to stay with his son while he went to direct the team, basically at the edge of the field."
"The escorts state that they had him at a distance of about 30 to 40 meters. They stayed guarding his minor son when suddenly the shots occurred, the attack was perpetrated," the minister has recounted, who added that "the escort at the time had an attempt to react, but it was too late and, moreover, this was complicated since, at the sound of the shots, people obviously panicked and everything became, in some way, very confusing."
Regarding the second fatal victim, Gustavo Adolfo Aguilar Gamarro, Villeda has indicated that from the Ministry they consider "that he was a collateral victim and it is presumed that the attack was not directed at him."