Libro Segundo Título I. De los delitos contra la vida y la integridad de la persona

Whoever causes the death of any person commits homicide.

Imprisonment of 15 to 40 years shall be imposed on the perpetrator.

Whoever kills in a state of violent emotion shall be punished with imprisonment of two to eight years.

When several persons, fighting and attacking one another in a confused and tumultuous manner, the death of one or more persons has resulted and its perpetrator is not established, but those who caused serious injuries are established, imprisonment of six to twelve years shall be imposed on the latter.

If it is not established who caused the injuries, imprisonment of two to six years shall be imposed on all participants.

Whoever commits preterintentional homicide shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to ten years.

The perpetrator of negligent homicide shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years. When the act also causes injuries to other persons or results in the death of several, the sanction shall be three (3) to eight (8) years of imprisonment.

If the crime were committed while driving a vehicle under the influence of alcoholic beverages, in a state of drunkenness, or under the influence of toxic drugs or narcotics, which affect the personality of the driver, or when driving with manifest recklessness or lack of skill or in a reckless or negligent manner in a situation that impairs or reduces his mental, volitional or physical capacity, double the penalty corresponding to him shall be imposed on the liable party, in the event of the non-existence of any of these circumstances, the cancellation of the driver's license for one (1) to five (5) years.

If the crime were caused by drivers of collective or freight transport, he shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years and cancellation of the driver's license for the duration of the sentence.

Whoever induces another to suicide or provides assistance to commit it, if death occurs, imprisonment of five to fifteen years shall be imposed.

If suicide does not occur, but its attempt produces injuries of those covered in Articles 146 and 147 of this Code, the penalty of imprisonment shall be six months to three years.

The mother who, driven by motives intimately linked to her condition, which produce in her undoubted psychic alteration, kills her child during its birth or before it has completed three days, shall be punished with imprisonment of two to eight years.

Whoever maliciously passes themselves off as dead or, knowing of the existence of proceedings instituted on the occasion of or by reason of their death, fails to make themselves known, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five years.

Whoever, knowing the relationship, kills any ascendant or descendant, their spouse or the person with whom they live in marital cohabitation, shall be punished as a parricide with imprisonment of 25 to 50 years. *The death penalty shall be imposed, in place of the maximum imprisonment, if due to the circumstances of the act, the manner of its commission and the determining motives, a greater and particular dangerousness in the perpetrator is revealed.

Those to whom the death penalty is not applied for this crime shall not be granted a reduction of penalty for any cause.

Whoever kills a person commits murder:

1)With treachery

2)For price, reward, promise, profit motive

3)By means of or on the occasion of flood, fire, poison, explosion, crumbling, collapse of a building or other artifice that may cause great devastation

4)With known premeditation

5)With cruelty

6)With impulse of brutal perversity

7)To prepare, facilitate, consummate and conceal another crime or to secure its results or immunity for himself or for co-participants or for not having obtained the result that he had proposed upon attempting the other punishable act

8)With terrorist aims or in the course of terrorist activities.

Imprisonment of 25 to 50 years shall be imposed on a person convicted of murder, *however the death penalty shall be applied instead of the maximum of imprisonment, if due to the circumstances of the act and of the occasion, the manner of carrying it out and the determining motives, a greater particular dangerousness of the agent is revealed. Those to whom the death penalty is not applied for this crime shall not be granted a reduction of penalty for any cause.

Whoever, by order, with authorization, support or acquiescence of the authorities of the State, deprives, in any form, of life one or more persons, for political motives, commits the crime of extrajudicial execution; in the same manner commits said crime the public official or public employee, whether or not belonging to the State security forces, who orders, authorizes, supports or gives acquiescence for the commission of such actions.

The deprivation of the life of one or more persons constitutes the crime of extrajudicial execution, even when no political motive exists, when it is committed by members of the State security forces, while in the exercise of their office, when they act arbitrarily or act with abuse or excess of force. Likewise commit the crime of extrajudicial execution the members or participants of organized groups or gangs with terrorist, insurgent, subversive purposes or with any other criminal purpose, when as a result of their actions the death of one or more persons results.

The offender of extrajudicial execution shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of twenty-five to thirty years.

*The death penalty shall be imposed in place of the maximum of imprisonment, in any of the following cases:

*a) When the victim is under twelve years of age or a person over sixty years of age.

*b) When, due to the circumstances of the act or of the occasion, the manner of carrying it out and the determinative motives, a greater dangerousness of the perpetrator is revealed.

Abortion is the death of the product of conception at any time during pregnancy.

The woman who causes her abortion or consents that another person cause it to her shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to three years. If she does so driven by motives which, intimately linked to her condition, produce an undoubted psychic alteration in her, the sanction shall be six months to two years of imprisonment.

Whoever intentionally causes an abortion shall be sanctioned:

1.With imprisonment of one to three years, if the woman consented thereto.

2.With imprisonment of three to six years, if acting without the consent of the woman.

If violence, threat or deceit was employed, the penalty shall be four to eight years of imprisonment.

If as a consequence of consented abortion or consented abortive maneuvers, the death of the woman results, the person liable shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three to eight years. If it is a case of abortion or abortive maneuvers performed without the consent of the woman and the death of the latter ensues, the person liable shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of four to twelve years.

Abortion performed by a physician, with the consent of the woman, following a favorable diagnosis by at least one other physician, is not punishable if it was performed without the intention of directly procuring the death of the product of conception and with the sole purpose of avoiding a duly established danger to the life of the mother, after all scientific and technical means have been exhausted.

Whoever, by acts of violence, causes the abortion, without the purpose of causing it, but with knowledge of the pregnancy status of the female victim, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to three years. If the acts of violence consist of injuries to which a greater sanction corresponds, the latter shall be applied increased by one third.

The woman's attempt to cause her own abortion and her own negligent abortion are unpunishable.

Negligent abortion caused by another person shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to three years, provided that such person has prior knowledge of the pregnancy.

The physician who, abusing his profession, causes the abortion or cooperates in it, shall be sanctioned with the penalties indicated in Article 135, with a fine of five hundred to three thousand quetzales, with disqualification from the practice of his profession for two to five years. The same sanctions shall apply, as applicable, to practitioners or persons with a health qualification, without prejudice to the provisions relating to concurrence of crimes.

Whoever attacks another, except in cases of brawl or fight between the two, whether by charging at him with weapons or by throwing at him any object capable of causing injury, shall be sanctioned with a fine of ten to two hundred quetzales. If as a consequence of the event an injury is caused, he shall be sanctioned only for such injury.

Whoever, intentionally, discharges a firearm at another, even if minor injury is caused, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to two years. If, as a consequence of the discharge, serious or very serious injuries are caused or death is caused, only the penalty corresponding to these crimes shall be imposed on him. In case of minor injury, for the application of the penalty, the provisions of Article 70 of this Code shall be observed.

What is provided in the two preceding articles is not applicable when the circumstances necessary to constitute an attempt of a crime for which a greater penalty is prescribed concur.

Whoever, without intent to kill, causes harm to another in body or mind commits the crime of injuries

Whoever intentionally castrates or sterilizes, blinds or mutilates another person, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of five to twelve years.

Whoever causes another person a very serious injury shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three to ten years.

A very serious injury is one that produces any of the following results:

1º.Certain or probably incurable mental or bodily illness;

2º.Permanent unfitness for work;

3º.Loss of a principal member or of its use; loss of speech.

4º.Loss of an organ or of a sense.

5º.Inability to engender or conceive.

Whoever causes serious injury to another shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to eight years.

Serious injury is that which produces any of the following results:

1º.Permanent weakening of the function of an organ, of a principal limb or of a sense.

2º.Permanent abnormality in the use of speech.

3º.Incapacity for work for more than one month.

4º.Permanent deformation of the face.

Whoever causes minor injury to another shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from six months to three years.

Minor injury is that which produces in the victim any of the following results:

1.Illness or incapacity for work for more than ten days, without exceeding thirty.

2.Loss and disablement of a non-principal member.

3.Visible and permanent scar on the face.

When injuries are caused in a tumultuous brawl, without it being possible to determine the perpetrator or perpetrators thereof, the penalty corresponding to the injuries, reduced by one third, shall be applied to those who have exercised any violence upon the person of the victim.

Whoever causes injuries through fault, even when there are several victims of the same act, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) months to two (2) years.

If the crime is committed while driving a vehicle under the influence of alcoholic beverages, toxic drugs or narcotics or in a state of drunkenness, affecting the driver's personality, or in a situation that impairs or reduces his mental, volitional or physical capacity, there shall be imposed on the person liable, in addition to a fine of five thousand (Q.5,000.00) to twenty-five thousand (Q.25,000.00) quetzales, suspension of the driver's license for six (6) months to two (2) years.

If the crime is caused by drivers of collective or freight transport, under any of the circumstances referred to in the preceding paragraph, he shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years and cancellation of the driver's license for six (6) months to three (3) years or for the time the sentence lasts. In case of recidivism, the sanction of imprisonment and cancellation of the license shall be doubled.

Whoever, by means of any action or omission, causes to a person who is a minor or with volitional or cognitive incapacity physical, psychological harm, illness, or places the child at grave risk of suffering them, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to five years, without prejudice to the sanctions applicable for other crimes.

Whoever, knowing that they suffer from a sexually transmitted infection, exposes another person to contagion, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to four years.

If the victim is a minor or a person with volitional or cognitive incapacity, the penalty shall be increased by two thirds.

Whoever, taking advantage of their participation in the practice of any sport, purposely causes, in violation of the corresponding rules or instructions, a harmful result, shall be liable for the resulting act and shall incur the sanctions that this Code prescribes for each case.

If the harmful result is caused without purpose but in violation of the respective rules or instructions, the liable person shall be sanctioned on the basis of fault.

Whoever, in violent sports duly authorized by the authority, whose purpose is personal attack, without violation of the respective rules or instructions, causes injuries to their opponent, does not incur criminal liability.

Nor does whoever, in practicing a duly authorized sport, without violation of the rules or instructions of the case and without intent, causes a harmful result, incur criminal liability.

Whoever abandons a child under ten years of age or a person incapable of taking care of himself or herself, who is under his or her care or custody, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six months to three years.

If, as a consequence of the abandonment, the death of the abandoned person occurs, the sanction shall be three to ten years of imprisonment. If only the life of such person has been endangered or injuries have been caused to him or her, the sanction shall be three months to five years of imprisonment.

The mother who, driven by motives closely linked to her condition, which cause her undoubted psychic alteration, abandons her child who has not yet reached three days of age, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of four months to two years.

If as a consequence of the abandonment the death of the child results, the sanction shall be one to four years of imprisonment.

Whoever, finding a minor under ten years of age lost or helpless; a person injured, disabled, or threatened with imminent danger, omits to provide the necessary assistance, according to the circumstances, when it could be done without personal risk, shall be sanctioned with a fine of twenty-five to two hundred quetzales.

Whoever employs persons who are minors in harmful and dangerous labor activities that impair their health, safety, integrity and dignity, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to four years and a fine of twenty thousand to one hundred thousand quetzales.

Shall be sanctioned with a fine of five thousand (Q.5,000.00) to twenty-five thousand (Q.25,000.00) quetzales and cancellation of driver's license from three (3) months to five (5) years:

1.Whoever drives a motor vehicle in a state of drunkenness or under the influence of toxic drugs or narcotics.

2.Whoever drives a motor vehicle with manifest recklessness or lack of skill or in a reckless or negligent manner, endangering or jeopardizing the life of persons, their integrity or their property or causing public unease or anxiety, or who does not possess or carry the respective driver's license, under the conditions pertinent to the type of vehicle driven.

In case of recidivism, the sanctions provided for in this article shall be increased by one third.

If as a consequence of the irregular conduct contained in numeral 1 of this article, injury or damage results, whatever its severity, the penalty to be imposed shall be three (3) to five (5) years of imprisonment, including definitive cancellation of the driver's license in the case of the driver of the vehicle. In the case of the owner, natural person or juridical person, the public transportation operation license shall be cancelled for five (5) years; without prejudice to the civil reparation which on account of the conduct corresponds to whoever is the victim of the act.

If the traffic event is caused by drivers of collective passenger or cargo transportation, they shall be sanctioned with double the penalties provided for in any of the circumstances set forth in numerals 1 and 2 of this article, in addition to cancellation of the vehicle operation card for five (5) years. The foregoing is without prejudice to the administrative actions established for such purpose by the Superintendency of Tax Administration.

Whoever drives a collective transport vehicle without the respective driver's license having been authorized to him or her shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six months to one year and a fine of three thousand to five thousand quetzales.

The employer-owner, or the person in charge of the management of the company in the case of a legal person, who employs drivers of collective transport vehicles to whom the corresponding license has not been authorized, shall be sanctioned with double the penalty indicated in the preceding paragraph.

Whoever places in grave and imminent risk or danger the circulation of vehicles by spilling slippery or flammable substances, alteration or destruction, total or partial, of the signage or by any other means, or by failing to restore the warnings or safety indicators of the roadway, when due to necessary circumstances they should have been interrupted or removed, shall be sanctioned with a fine of one thousand (Q.1,000.00) to five thousand quetzales (Q.5,000.00) and imprisonment of one year.

In the same manner, those who create road turnarounds or make any cut to the central medians of the CA, RN, RD highways, without authorization from the General Directorate of Roads, shall be sanctioned with said penalty, as well as the instigators of the placement of speed bumps, barrels or other obstacles on the highways of the country, without authorization from said Directorate, or those who by their acts prevent the removal thereof.

Whoever, without having fulfilled all the requirements established in the legislation on the matter and without having the corresponding authorization, operates in any manner the collective public passenger or cargo transport service, shall be sanctioned with a fine of ten thousand (Q.10,000.00) to one hundred thousand (100,000.00) quetzales. In case of recidivism, in addition to the fine, such person shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years.

A private individual, public official or public employee who, for a price or reward, deliberately aids or contributes for the benefit of a third party responsible for the operation of the urban or extra-urban passenger transport service, without fulfilling the requirements established by law, shall be sanctioned with a fine of five thousand (Q.5,000.00) to fifty thousand (Q.50,000.00) quetzales. In case of recidivism, in addition to the fine, such person shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years.