On 25 June 2016, Alvaro Alfredo Aceituno Lopez a journalist in Radio Ilusión was killed by unknown assailants who shot him several times in the head.

The crime occurred in Coatepegue area in Quelzaltenango city when several armed men driving a car approached Aceituno Lopez near his home and shot him dead.  He survived initially but died a few hours later from his wounds.

As well as being a journalist, Aceituno Lopez was the Director of  Radio Ilusion where he presented a news programme called Acontecer Coatepecano. Most of his programmes focused on issues such as education, health, security and the local administration. Aceituno Lopez had been a journalist for 30 years and according to his wife, he had never mentioned receiving threats linked to his journalism.