Guatemala's Interior Minister Vinicio Gomez and his deputy, Edgar Hernandez, were killed Friday in a helicopter crash. ( dpa )
The pilot of Gomez' helicopter was also killed, a spokesman for the interior ministry said.
The accident happened about 300 kilometres north of the capital of the Central American city.
The two officials were returning from a celebration near the border with Mexico to commemorate the recruitment of 82 police officials from the rain forest of Peten.
The region is riddled with secret landing strips operated by cartels to transport illegal drugs northwards.
There were no details about the cause of the crash. The weather was reportedly clear at the time of the accident early in the afternoon.