El Organismo Judicial de Guatemala afirmó que fiscales del Ministerio Público (MP) cambiaron la vestimenta de los hermanos Rigoberto y Daniel Choc Toz al momento de su captura, tras ser señalados como autores materiales del asesinato del exfiscal contra la corrupción Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa.

El portavoz del Organismo Judicial, Rudy Esquivel, afirmó que el procedimiento del cambio de ropa se realizó como parte de la recolección y preservación de posibles indicios para peritajes. La institución precisó que sus agentes de seguridad no participaron en esa diligencia.

Según dijo, los guardias judiciales solo realizan revisiones corporales preventivas para evitar el ingreso de objetos o sustancias ilícitas y para garantizar condiciones adecuadas durante la permanencia de personas detenidas en las instalaciones.

Según Esquivel, el cambio de ropa se efectuó bajo responsabilidad del MP, con acompañamiento de la Policía Nacional Civil (PNC), dentro de las competencias legales de cada entidad.

La explicación surgió luego de los cuestionamientos por el tratamiento que recibieron los hermanos tras su captura, ocurrida después del asesinato del abogado y exfiscal anticorrupción Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa.

El Organismo Judicial no detalló el alcance de la diligencia

En una entrevista telefónica con Infobae, el portavoz evitó precisar si las prendas retiradas a los hermanos permanecen bajo análisis del Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Forenses (Inacif) de Guatemala o si ya fueron sometidas a alguna pericia.

Tampoco aclaró si el cambio de vestimenta forma parte de un protocoloaplicado a todas las personas capturadas o si respondió a circunstancias específicas de este caso, todo esto, argumentando que la causa se encuentra bajo reserva a solicitud del Ministerio Público.

“Cada acción o decisión es en relación a la competencia de cada una de las entidades”, respondió Esquivel al ser consultado sobre el procedimiento. Añadió que la información divulgada por el Organismo Judicial es la única que puede confirmarse de forma oficial por ahora.

La diligencia está bajo reserva judicial, por lo que los detalles de la investigación corresponden al MP. Esquivel sostuvo que la aclaración buscó evitar interpretaciones erróneas sobre la intervención de los agentes de seguridad judicial, a quienes se había vinculado con el cambio de ropa.

Las denuncias por anomalías en la captura siguen bajo investigación

El caso abrió cuestionamientos sobre el procedimiento policial posterior a la detención de los hermanos Choc Toz. Los jóvenes denunciaron que agentes de la PNC les habrían colocado una carabina dentro de una mochila de reparto y que fueron obligados a cambiarse de ropa antes de llegar a la sede judicial.

La hipótesis de una posible implantación del arma forma parte de una investigación y no constituye una conclusión oficial. El Ministerio de Gobernación ordenó revisar la actuación de los policías involucrados, mientras que la Inspectoría General de la PNC y el MP analizan el expediente.

Durante una citación legislativa, el subdirector general de Operaciones de la PNC, Esvin Jacinto Quiché, reconoció que llevar a los detenidos a una subestación policial, cambiar la patrulla y grabar el traslado antes de ponerlos a disposición judicial no se ajustó al procedimiento.

El funcionario dijo que siete integrantes de la Comisaría 13 figuran en la investigación: cuatro agentes, dos mandos y el comisario de la unidad.

Las autoridades también revisan el manejo de la carabina, las municiones y el chaleco táctico que la PNC afirmó haber localizado en una mochila atribuida a los hermanos.

El arma está registrada a nombre de un particular y no tiene reporte de robo, según información trasladada por la institución policial.

El asesinato de Solórzano Foppa y la captura de los hermanos Choc Toz

Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa y Gustavo Adolfo Aguilar Gamarro murieron el 17 de octubre durante un ataque armado en las canchas del Campo Marte, en la zona 5 de Ciudad de Guatemala.

Minutos después, la PNC capturó a los hermanos Rigoberto y Daniel Choc Toz en la zona 16. La Policía los presentó inicialmente como sospechosos y afirmó que portaban una carabina. Ambosnegaron cualquier vínculo con el crimen.

El 18 de octubre, un juzgado dictó falta de mérito a favor de los hermanos, luego de que el MP solicitara esa resolución por falta de elementos para procesarlos. La investigación por el doble homicidio y por las denuncias sobre la captura permanece bajo reserva.

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Two nonprofits linked to Marxist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham have rejected a congressional ultimatum to turn over financial records, accusing lawmakers of using a foreign-influence investigation to target their political views and violate their First Amendment rights.

The People’s Forum Inc., a New York City-based activist hub, and BreakThrough News, a far-left nonprofit media outlet, fired back in letters to Tuesday the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which threatened to depose their leaders — and Singham personally — if the organizations failed to comply with earlier subpoenas for financial records.

The People’s Forum blasted the latest congressional crackdown as a «MAGA-led witch hunt.»

BreakThrough News and its supporters accuse the committee of targeting the outlet over its coverage of Israel and immigration enforcement, while lawmakers maintain the probe concerns the organizations’ finances and structure.

HOUSE PANEL WARNS SINGHAM-LINKED NONPROFITS: COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS OR FACE CONGRESS

The showdown comes as the Republican-led committee, headed by Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., investigates whether millions of dollars flowing through Singham’s network of tax-exempt nonprofits are being used to advance Chinese Communist Party interests in the United States.

«This approach is tantamount to holding the staff of BreakThrough News hostage,» attorneys for BreakThrough News wrote in their Oct. 20 response, accusing the committee of threatening seven newsroom employees with depositions unless the outlet abandons its constitutional objections.

The attorneys also challenged the committee’s foreign influence allegations, pointing to its reference to Singham, who lives in Shanghai, alongside foreign principals.

«Mr. Singham is a U.S. citizen,» the attorneys wrote.

The standoff raises the prospect of Singham being personally deposed by congressional investigators after the committee identified him among 21 potential witnesses, including nonprofit executives, activists and journalists associated with the two organizations and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, a Massachusetts-based Marxist think tank that has not publicly released a response to the latest demands.

The People’s Forum similarly condemned the committee’s latest demands in its Oct. 20 response, accusing lawmakers of using the threat of depositions against eight staff members as retaliation for asserting its First Amendment rights.

The committee did not immediately respond to Digital’s request for comment.

SUBPOENAED PRO-CHINA OUTLET DEFENDS ITSELF ON DEMOCRACY NOW!, WHICH PAID SINGHAM-FOUNDED COMPANY MILLIONS

On their websites, BreakThrough News and The People’s Forum also urged supporters to donate to help fund their legal defenses against the probe.

«This is an escalation of the same MAGA-led witch-hunt,» The People’s Forum wrote in an Oct. 21 statement beneath a black graphic declaring, «We won’t surrender our First Amendment rights.»

Both organizations also accused the committee of repeatedly changing its rationale and ignoring their legal objections but said they remained open to narrower requests.

The responses come as BreakThrough News has also been accused of sympathetically amplifying recent protests and unrest across Europe, including demonstrations in France that descended into violent riots, with protesters torching cars and clashing with police.

The Singham-funded outlet advertised an online discussion, «Europe’s Youth Uprising,» declaring that «a rebellion is sweeping Europe» and portraying the demonstrations as a youth uprising against rising living costs, austerity and military spending, according to a Digital report.

Ten press freedom and civil liberties organizations, including PEN America, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Society of Professional Journalists, have also backed BreakThrough News, accusing the committee of targeting its political views and warning that forcing journalists to testify could threaten press freedom.

«Rep. Smith’s shameless targeting of BreakThrough News for editorial viewpoints that he dislikes shows a complete disregard of the First Amendment,» Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement published by BreakThrough News.

In their Oct. 20 letter, the groups called on the committee to abandon its investigation into the outlet and refrain from issuing further subpoenas.

‘MCCARTHY TRIALS’: HASAN PIKER, FAR-LEFT FIGURES ERUPT OVER SUBPOENAS IN $39M SINGHAM PROBE

The committee alleges that Singham routed money through shell companies and donor-advised funds, obscuring the original source of contributions to the three nonprofits. Singham, an American-born Marxist tech tycoon who now lives in Shanghai, sold his software company, ThoughtWorks, for an estimated $785 million in 2017.

A previous Digital investigation traced at least $278 million from Singham into six core U.S. nonprofits that served as funding hubs within a broader international network of activist groups, media organizations and think tanks promoting socialist, communist and pro-China causes.

Of that funding, $22.44 million flowed to The People’s Forum, $16.76 million to Tricontinental and $1.098 million to BreakThrough BT Media Inc., the parent organization of BreakThrough News.

The three received approximately $40.3 million combined, according to Digital’s investigation, which the committee cited in its earlier correspondence.

The committee said it is examining whether existing tax laws adequately protect against foreign influence in the nonprofit sector and whether Congress should strengthen those laws.

«Shanghai Singham has poured millions of dollars into these groups to take advantage of America’s nonprofit sector and promote Chinese Communist Party propaganda. That much is public. What these groups are fighting to keep hidden is even more concerning,» Smith said in an Oct. 13 statement.

«Either these organizations turn over the documents, or their leaders will answer the Committee’s questions under oath.»

The committee has not publicly identified evidence showing the organizations are concealing information related to foreign influence. Digital sought an update from the committee following the Oct. 20 deadline but had not received a response as of publication.

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President Donald Trump’s rally in South Carolina Wednesday revealed mixed feelings among his supporters as frustrations over the economy, immigration and the war with Iran collide with the stakes of November’s midterm elections.

While some rallygoers urged fellow Republicans to look past their frustrations and turn out in November, one Clemson University student who once proudly wore a Trump hat said he was considering voting Democratic.

«I was a big Trump supporter,» Grant Frady explained. «But, recently, I didn’t support him for the 2024 election. I feel like there’s too many special interests involved. I feel like what he said to the public was that he was anti-war. He was wanting to boost the economy. He said that he was just going to put America first, and I just feel like we haven’t.»

Trump traveled to South Carolina to rally support for Republican Sen. Darline Graham, who faces an unexpectedly competitive challenge from Democrat Annie Andrews in a state that has long favored Republicans.

TRUMP REAFFIRMS ICE ARREST POLICY AFTER CONFUSING GUIDANCE SPARKS ALARM AMONG AGENTS

«And he also, he said he was going to deport all the illegal immigrants. We haven’t seen enough to really say that. I feel like he’s just overstating. I feel he’s causing too many problems for what he’s really benefiting. We haven’t gotten that many illegal immigrants out, and look how much problems we have with ICE.»

The economic concerns come as Americans continue to grapple with the cost of living, while the conflict with Iran has added pressure to energy markets and heightened uncertainty about the economy. 

A recent survey found that six in 10 voters say the cost of living is their top economic concern, followed by government spending (15%), jobs and income inequality (7% each), tariffs (6%) and taxes (5%).

POLL: ECONOMIC GLOOM, TRUMP RATINGS SIGNAL TOUGH GOP MIDTERM PATH

Frady wasn’t the only Clemson student who arrived at the rally with mixed feelings about the president’s record.

James, another Clemson student, said he had supported Trump in the past but was frustrated with aspects of the administration’s foreign and immigration policies.

«I’ve supported him [Trump] in the past, but some things have went off the edge,» James stated. «I definitely think foreign policy should be enforced a little better than we’ve just been letting it go. And, also, I feel like he hasn’t been doing enough for illegal immigrants getting in this country. So, that’s also a standpoint I like.

«I think you should be more aggressive than not joining in with these [foreign] countries,» he continued. «‘Cause I don’t think that’s America first, and it’s causing us to have a lot of debt.»

Frady said doubts about Graham’s conservative credentials have prompted him to consider voting for Andrews, a Democratic pediatrician, while other rallygoers argued that frustrations with Trump’s record were not enough to justify sitting out November’s election.

REPUBLICANS FACE TICKING MIDTERM CLOCK AS IRAN FALLOUT KEEPS PRESSURE ON GAS PRICES

«You may not be thrilled with Trump, but you’ll get the alternative,» Mike Korb of Greenville told Digital, warning that Democrats would also reverse the administration’s immigration-enforcement policies if they regained power.

Korb argued that Trump’s rally could help energize Republican voters, though he expressed doubts about the GOP’s prospects of retaining the House.

Summer Frost of Aiken argued that Americans should be willing to endure higher energy prices tied to the conflict with Iran, describing the economic burden as «short-term pain for long term gain.»

She wasn’t alone in viewing Iran as a long-term threat to America that had to finally be dealt with.

Scott Hines, a military veteran from Greenwood, recalled serving during the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, an attack that shaped his views on confronting Iran.

«I was in the military when they bombed the Marine barracks. And we should have already hit Iran,» Hines told Digital.

Hines and wife Margaret live not far from the Georgia line, where student Laken Riley was murdered by an illegal immigrant while jogging in February 2024.

«Nobody wanted a young girl … who couldn’t jog on her own college campus to end up like that. I mean, that’s for any college campus, just not for someplace close to home,» Margaret said about the tragedy, which occurred in nearby Athens, Georgia.

The president’s rally also faced repeated disruptions from protesters, several of whom were escorted from the venue.

During one disturbance, an attendee reportedly punched a protester, drawing praise from Trump, who compared the person who threw the blow to former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.

The local sheriff’s office said Thursday that an assault report had been filed after the altercation. A deputy observed minor bruising on the person who reported being assaulted, according to the report. The case remained under investigation, with no suspect publicly identified.

The disruptions underscored the tensions surrounding Trump’s visit just 13 days before the midterm elections, when Republicans will be looking to mobilize voters in a state where a Senate seat once considered safely Republican has become more competitive.

For Republican voters interviewed at the rally, the question was whether frustrations over Trump’s record would ultimately change their votes or whether the prospect of Democratic victories would be enough to keep them behind the GOP.

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