Guatemala's government cites the presence of drug trafficking and terrorist groups to justify the state of siege in Zacapa and Izabal

Army commands were deployed to Zacapa and Izabal following the declaration of a State of Siege. (Ministry of Defense) The Government of Guatemala attributed the wave of violence recorded in the departments of Zacapa and Izabal to transnational criminal and terrorist organizations, on which basis it declared a state of siege for 30 days in both regions. Government Decree Number 8-2026, signed on Saturday, November 14, by President Bernardo Arévalo and the Council of Ministers, was published this Sunday in the official gazette and details that security reports confirmed activities linked to drug trafficking behind armed attacks against civilians and authorities. This is how the vehicle of Congressman Julio Portillo was left after he died along with three police escorts in an armed attack in Zacapa. (Archive/Social Media) According to the Executive Branch, the situation compromises public order, life, liberty, justice, security, and peace in both departments. The decree also warns of risks to the property of residents, integral development, and the continuity of essential public services. The declaration is based on Article 138 of the Political Constitution of the Republic and the Public Order Law. These regulations allow for the temporary restriction of constitutional guarantees in the event of a serious disturbance of the peace or acts that threaten state security. During the validity of the measure, freedom of action, conditions of legal detention, freedom of movement, the right of assembly and demonstration, as well as the possession and carrying of weapons, may be limited. Authorities will be empowered to restrict meetings, demonstrations, and shows, as well as to establish controls on the circulation and parking of vehicles. They may also order detentions or confinements without a judicial order against persons suspected of disturbing public order through acts related to the emergency. The state of siege in the departments of Zacapa and Izabal was justified by the Government of Guatemala in light of the presence of drug trafficking and organized crime. (Government of Guatemala) The decree also authorizes searches without prior authorization from a judge when there are indications that a person with an outstanding arrest warrant, or weapons and objects related to the crimes under investigation, is located in a property. The authority must present a written order and limit the procedure to the established objective. The president will exercise control of the actions as commander general of the Army, through the Minister of National Defense. That ministry must coordinate with the Ministry of the Interior and other institutions of the Executive Branch. Congress will have three days to ratify, modify, or reject the measure. The declaration comes after several violent incidents recorded in Zacapa. On September 27, a series of attacks in Huité, including an assault during a sporting event, left eight people dead. The case remains under investigation and judicial seal. Although the Army initially denied its participation, military authorities and the Government later confirmed that personnel and vehicles of the institution moved through the area. Last September, an armed command carried out a series of armed attacks in Huité, Zacapa. Eight people died in a case that remains under investigation. (Facebook) The Ministry of National Defense placed 107 soldiers at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor's Office while investigations continue to establish responsibilities. On November 6, the congressman for Zacapa, Julio César Portillo Paz, died after an armed attack at kilometer 137 of the road to the Atlantic, in the jurisdiction of Río Hondo. His escorts from the National Civil Police — Fernando Reyes, Érick Ramos, and Jorge Paau Xicol — were also killed in the ambush. More than 90 ballistic evidence markers were left on the pavement after the armed attack against Congressman Julio Portillo, in which three National Civil Police escorts died. (Archive/Public Prosecutor's Office of Guatemala) In the early hours of Friday, November 13, five people, including a mother and two of her children, were murdered in the hamlet of El Tocino, village of La Majada, municipality of Zacapa. During the attack, a man was reportedly kidnapped and later released due to an alleged confusion over the target of the armed incursion. Five people, including a mother and two of her children, were murdered in the hamlet of El Tocino in Zacapa. (Social Media) That same November 13, two men traveling in a pickup truck were murdered in front of the Reina Barrios park in Puerto Barrios, Izabal. Unknown assailants intercepted them from another vehicle, shot them, and fled the scene. Authorities have not reported whether that case is related to the attacks recorded in Zacapa. The bloody events coexist with a history of ties between local figures and organized crime. On October 24, the mayor of Zacapa, Xiomara Ovalle, organized a quinceañera party for her daughter Adriana Cifuentes, an event flagged by the United States government for its links to drug trafficking. The quinceañera of the mayor of Zacapa's daughter included a horse-drawn carriage, pyrotechnics, and fast food stands. (Social Media) The diplomatic representation recalled that Sergio Fernando Cifuentes Sagastume, alias El Gordo, the teenager's father and Ovalle's husband, was convicted in the United States for drug trafficking. Meanwhile, Infobae confirmed that the mayor is the sister-in-law of Haroldo Waldemar Lorenzana Terraza, alias Haroldito, who is wanted by U.S. justice for crimes related to drug trafficking and for whom a hefty reward is offered, as leader of the Guatemalan cartel Los Lorenzana.