Gunmen kill Guatemala lawmaker near tourist resort

GUATEMALA CITY, Dec 21 (Reuters) - A newly elected opposition lawmaker was shot and killed outside a popular Guatemalan tourist resort on Friday, the latest politician to be gunned down in an election year marred by violence.

Gunmen shot Marco Antonio Xicay, who was elected in September to Congress from the right-wing Patriotic Party, in the chest and stomach outside a hot springs resort some 125 miles (200 km) west of Guatemala City.

"I think this crime is part of the overwhelming violence that all Guatemalans live with today," said Patriotic Party leader Gen. Otto Perez Molina, who narrowly lost the presidential run-off in November to center-left politician Alvaro Colom.

Xicay was due to take office on Jan. 14, when Colom is sworn in. The president-elect has vowed to use the military to reduce Guatemala's endemic violence.

More than 50 people were killed during Guatemala's presidential campaign, as drug gangs seek political power to dominate Central American drug smuggling routes.

Drug cartels have grown in influence since Guatemala's 36-year civil war ended a decade ago. They now control swathes of the country.

Guatemala also is plagued by violent youth street gangs. Last year, some 6,000 people were murdered in a country with a population of 13 million. (Reporting by Herbert Hernandez; Editing by Xavier Briand)