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(CNN Spanish) - The Guatemalan National Civil Police preliminarily detained two men and two women accused of murdering Domingo Choc Che on Saturday, setting him on fire in the Chimay village of the municipality of San Luis in the northern department from Petén.
According to the official police report to which CNN had access, Domingo Choc Che, 56, was singled out by a mob for practicing witchcraft. The document indicates that Choc was pointed out by relatives of a man who died three days before the incident in a hospital, after having made him ill with witchcraft. He adds that after the death of that person, the residents began to monitor the spiritual guide and that Domingo would have been caught at almost midnight on Friday "doing acts of witchcraft, in front of the pantheon of the person who died three days ago." According to the police report, Domingo Choc was detained by five people at 2 am on Saturday, who tied him up for several hours and then set him on fire in a community soccer field.
The document also indicates that the authorities had many complications to enter the community, as some residents refused to allow them access to rescue the victim. The report also details that three men and two women are involved in the death of the spirit guide.
In a statement, the Human Rights Ombudsman in Guatemala stated that “Domingo Choc Che was recognized and appreciated by the scientific community as an expert in natural medicine; I was part of a transdisciplinary team in research and development projects at the University of Zurich, University College London, and the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala ”.
The ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Central American country, Nick Whittingham confirmed on Twitter that the spiritual guide was in a project with the London university on ancient Mayan medicine and asked the Guatemalan state to clarify the crime.
The President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, also rejected the fact: ”I regret and condemn the murder of Domingo Choc. Since Saturday, I asked the Public Ministry for its collaboration so that those responsible are brought to justice. ”
Daniela Ochaita, a close collaborator of Domingo Choc Che in research from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, said that the "Tata" or "Grandfather Domingo", as high-ranking Mayan spiritual guides are known in this country, collaborated with this house of studies in various investigations and was part of the Association of Spiritual Guides in Guatemala.
The Public Ministry indicated that the proceedings continue to obtain the capture of a man accused of belonging to the group of five people who murdered Domingo Choc Che.
Murder
