1983
Named Distinguished Neighbor by the Mayor of Guatemala City for his work to coordinate national and international information on the first visit to Guatemala of His Holiness John Paul II. This was work he carried out for the communications office of the Cardinal of Guatemala, Mario Casariego and Acevedo, in coordination with the Vatican's press office.
1987
Latin American Ludwig von Mises Award, by the Center for Free Enterprise of Mexico for his essay Law and Freedom in Hispanic America.
1996
Monja Blanca Order in the 1st Class, for his contributions to the consolidation of democracy in Guatemala. It is the highest decoration awarded by the Guatemalan Army to civilians, and is endorsed by the President of the Republic of Guatemala.
1998
Honorable Mention in the IV Award for Liberalism in Latin America from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for his essay Energy Crisis, Bridge to Freedom (Crisis Energética, Puente de Libertad).
1999
Third Place in the V Award for Liberalism in Latin America from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for his essay Equality Before the Law, the Key Challenge (Igualdad ante la Ley, el Desafío Clave).
2000
Award for the best government marketing campaign in Latin America in a decade, awarded by the Association of Political Consultants of Latin America for the work carried out for the Government of Guatemala during the presidential administration of Ramiro De León Carpio.
2001
He was named Honorary Rotarian by the Guatemala City Rotary Club for his permanent contribution to the consolidation of the democratic system in Guatemala.
2015
He received the 2015 Reed Latino award for best Crisis Management in the hemisphere, awarded by Campaign & Elections Magazine, for his outstanding participation in managing the humanitarian crisis of the more than 60,000 unaccompanied migrant children who arrived that year at the southern border of the United States. Ligorría managed this crisis in his capacity as Guatemalan Ambassador to Washington.