Guatemala: Former Mayoral Candidate José Elías Ramírez shot dead in broad daylight 

Guatemala: Engineer and former mayoral candidate José Elías Ramírez, aged 53, was shot and killed in broad daylight on the morning of November 8, in what authorities describe as a targeted execution captured on security cameras.

The CCTV footage of the incident which is making rounds on social media shows the attackers dressed as construction workers and they exit a vehicle before opening fire on the victim and his partner 38-year-old Anna María Andrés as they were walking along the city Street in Guatemala.

Both of them were shot multiple times, reported the eyewitnesses. Moments after the shooting, the assailants covered Ramírez’s body with his jacket before fleeing the scene.

An investigation into the incident was soon launched after a report of the matter was made with the police officers. Approximately eight hours after the attack, the Guatemalan National Police located the vehicle used in the crime. The police later found that the car had been reported stolen on May 22, 2025.

Police recovered the getaway vehicle and weapons from the victims’ SUV but have made no arrests, classifying the attack as a targeted execution possibly linked to organized crime in the construction sector.

Ramírez, an engineer and businessman, owned Constructora D&D Ramírez y Hernández, a local construction company. In 2023, he ran for mayor of El Tejar as a candidate for the Cabal Party but was unsuccessful in his bid. The politician had been a state contractor, especially for municipalities, was the supervisor of the overpass on the Roosevelt Highway under construction.

According to public records, Ramírez’s company received about Q428 million in contracts (roughly $55 million USD) between 2014 and 2025. Most of the work involved municipal road repairs and infrastructure projects. The firm was especially active between 2018 and 2020, when it landed some of its largest deals.

As of now, the case remains under investigation with officials trying to determine the exact cause of the fatal shooting.