Francisco Palomo, who defended Efrain Rios Montt against charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, shot 12 times but no immediate word on suspects

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The lawyer representing Guatemala’s former dictator Efrain Rios Montt against genocide charges has been shot to death in the capital, authorities said.

Francisco Palomo was shot at least 12 times in the chest and thorax while driving through a residential neighborhood of Guatemala City around midday on Wednesday, firefighters’ spokesman Raul Hernandez said.

There was no immediate word on any suspects.

Palomo, 63, was a former judge on the Constitutional Court and a longtime friend of Rios Montt.

He defended the former dictator in his legal battle against charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for the death of 1,771 indigenous Guatemalans at the hands of security forces during Rios Montt’s 1982-83 regime.

Rios Montt was sentenced to 80 years in prison in 2013, but that conviction was quickly overturned and a new trial ordered.

A retrial scheduled for this past January was delayed indefinitely after the defense won a motion to have one of the three judges hearing the case recuse herself.

Palomo also represented former interior minister Carlos Vielmann, who faces a legal case in Spain accusing him of extrajudicial killings in Guatemala.

Palomo’s wife, children and colleagues and Rios Montt’s daughter Zury Rios gathered at the scene of the killing.