GUATEMALA CITY — 2009 · Suspicious Death

Rodrigo Rosenberg — The Lawyer Who Planned His Own Death

SolvedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

Lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg was shot dead while cycling in Guatemala City on 10 May 2009. In a pre-recorded video distributed at his funeral, he said that if he were killed, President Álvaro Colom and his inner circle would be responsible. The video triggered a major political crisis and mass demonstrations calling for the government to resign. The UN-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which took over the investigation, concluded in January 2010 that Rosenberg had arranged his own killing through intermediaries. Numerous members of the hit-squad network were arrested, and the case is remembered as one of Latin America's strangest political crime files.

Date: 2009
Place: Guatemala, Guatemala, Guatemala City, GT
Category: Suspicious Death
Case Status: Solved
Coordinates: 14.5900, -90.5100 ↗

Timeline of Events

10 May 2009Rosenberg was shot dead while cycling.
11 May 2009His pre-recorded video accusing the president went public.

May 2009Large anti- and pro-government demonstrations were held in the capital.
January 2010CICIG announced that Rosenberg had organised his own death.

Sources

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