Former Guatemalan Prosecutor Solorzano Foppa Shot Dead in Guatemala City
Former Guatemalan prosecutor and former tax chief Juan Francisco Solorzano Foppa, 43, was shot dead by two men on Oct. 17 during a visit to the Campo Marte sports complex in Guatemala City. Guatemala's Public Prosecutor's Office, the agency that brings criminal cases, said a second man, Gustavo Adolfo Aguilar Gamarro, died in the attack. Al Jazeera
Police arrested two men in connection with the killing and seized a carbine-style firearm and a motorcycle. The suspects were identified as Daniel Choc Toz and Rigoberto Choc Toz, described as the alleged perpetrators of the armed attack. Police said the two men were in custody at the Tower of Tribunals in Guatemala City on Oct. 17.
Campo Marte is a sports complex in zone 5 of Guatemala City. Prensa Libre
Foppa headed the Criminal Investigations Directorate within the Public Prosecutor's Office before leading Guatemala's tax authority, known as SAT, from 2016 to 2018. In that role, he helped prosecute dozens of powerful business figures and recover unpaid taxes. He had investigated the La Linea case. Prensa Libre
His later years brought legal trouble. Police arrested him on May 19, 2021, and Judge Israel Zelada later ordered that he could await trial under house arrest. Reuters In 2023, Foppa briefly joined the defence team of Guatemalan journalist Jose Ruben Zamora. He left the case after the Public Prosecutor's Office accused him of obstructing proceedings and destroying or concealing information, a charge he denied but accepted as part of a plea agreement saying he did not believe he would receive a fair trial.
In 2025, Foppa alleged a connection between the Barrio 18 gang and the National Unity of Hope party, as well as links between criminal gangs and the judicial system.
President Bernardo Arevalo condemned the murder and said the direct perpetrators and those who ordered the crime must face the full weight of the law.
