Guatemala probes killing of Indigenous town's mayor

Guatemalan authorities were investigating the death of the mayor of an Indigenous town after his body was found in his home in what authorities called a "crime scene."

The body of Daniel Chavajay, 33, was found Friday, prosecutors said. He was mayor of San Juan La Laguna, located on Lake Atitlan, about a four-hour drive west of the capital.

President Bernardo Arevalo said in a post on X he was "distressed" over the crime and that authorities would find the culprits.

Authorities have not released details of the killing.

Chavajay won the mayor's post in June 2023. He had received death threats and had bodyguards, his father has said.

As of 2023, Guatemala had a murder rate of 16.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the UN and the Ministry of the Interior, double the global average.

Last year saw 4,361 homicides, half attributed to drug trafficking and gangs.