Guatemala has declared a state of emergency in two eastern departments, handing security forces sweeping powers after a series of armed attacks in which a lawmaker and three police officers were killed.
The decree, issued on Saturday, covers Zacapa and Izabal, two neighbouring departments that together span an area roughly the size of Qatar. It takes effect immediately and will run for 30 days.
Under the emergency measures, outdoor gatherings are banned and security officials may disperse groups by force. They may also make arrests and enter homes without a warrant.
The announcement follows a series of armed attacks in Zacapa, including the shooting of lawmaker Julio Cesar Portillo in Rio Hondo on 6 November. Portillo was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries. Three police officers were also killed in the attack, President Bernardo Arevalo later announced.
The authorities have not said who was responsible for the attack. It came amid growing concern over the reach of organised crime in the region. Washington this week designated several crime groups operating in Zacapa as terrorist organisations and accused them of ties to Mexican drug trafficking cartels.
In a statement, the government said it “remains committed to protecting the lives, safety, and peace of Guatemalan families”, adding that the state of emergency was intended to protect the local population.
The decree is the latest sign of the pressure on Arevalo’s government as it confronts criminal groups whose influence stretches across Guatemala’s eastern corridor, a key transit route for drugs moving north towards the United States. The emergency powers give the security forces a freer hand in the two departments, but they also raise familiar questions about how long such measures can be sustained — and whether they will do more than push the violence elsewhere.
Note: this account rests on a single report by Reuters. The authorities have not identified those responsible for the attack on Portillo, and the extent of the groups’ links to Mexican cartels is as stated by Washington, not independently verified.
Sources: Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/guatemala-decrees-state-emergency-two-departments-after-lawmaker-killed-attack-2026-11-15/
