Central America
Guatemala’s leader to skip Americas Summit after US sanctions
AFP
Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei said Tuesday he will skip next month’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, after Washington sanctioned his top prosecutor over allegations of corruption.
The United States officially designated Guatemalan Attorney General Consuelo Porras for “significant corruption” Monday, just hours after she was reappointed for a second four-year term.
Speaking on Tuesday during an event at the Mexican embassy in Guatemala, Giammattei said he did not expect to be invited to the summit.
“In any case, I sent word that I’m not going,” he said.
“As long as I am president this country will be respected and its sovereignty will be respected.”
Earlier in the day, Porras blasted the US move, saying she will not bow to pressure from Washington.
“The attorney general and head of the public ministry does not accept any kind of interference nor pressure and will continue working in an objective and impartial manner ensuring strict compliance with the law,” her office said on Twitter.
It added that the “public ministry is an autonomous institution that is not subordinate to any international entity.”
Last year, the US said it had “lost confidence” in Porras after she sacked Guatemala’s top anti-corruption prosecutor Francisco Sandoval.
Sandoval, who fled to the United States after being fired, claimed he had encountered numerous obstacles in his work and had been prevented from investigating Giammattei without Porras’s permission.
Critics say Sandoval’s replacement is a defender of corruption and persecutor of the opposition.
Porras has had at least six anti-corruption prosecutors arrested on charges ranging from obstruction of justice to abuse of authority.
The prosecutors were fired amid ongoing investigations of politicians charged with graft, and claimed their treatment was revenge from those in power.
Giammattei said on Monday that Porras’s reappointment was supported unanimously by the commission tasked with vetting candidates for the position of attorney general.
The European Union said in a statement that the reappointment of Porras “raises concerns about the commitment of the Guatemalan authorities to tackle corruption and safeguard the independence of the judiciary.”
The EU said the Public Ministry’s legal action against judges, lawyers and prosecutors involved in investigating corruption “forms part of a wider pattern of intimidation and harassment that has led over 20 justice operators to leave the country.”
Participation in the Summit of Americans has already caused some controversy.
Rumors have been swirling that Washington will not invite Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to the conference, with the presidents of Mexico and Bolivia announcing they would only attend as long as there are no exclusions.
Central America
Nicaragua’s Ortega and Murillo Mourn Pope Francis, Acknowledge ‘Difficult’ Relationship
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, who also serve as co-leaders of the country, expressed their condolences on Monday following the death of Pope Francis, acknowledging that their relationship with the late pontiff had been “difficult” and “troubled.” Nicaragua officially suspended diplomatic ties with the Vatican during his papacy.
“Our relationship, as Nicaraguans who are believers, devoted and faithful to the doctrine of Christ Jesus, was difficult and troubled—unfortunately shaped by adverse and painful circumstances that were not always understood,” Ortega and Murillo wrote in a message of condolence.
“Despite the complexity and hardships, despite the manipulation we all know occurred, despite everything, we kept our hope alive through Christian faith,” they continued. “We understood the distance, and above all, the complicated and strained communication that prevented better relations. We also recognized the confusion caused by strident voices that disrupted any attempt at genuine interaction.”
Pope Francis had previously compared the Ortega regime to communist dictatorships and even to Hitler, a remark that further strained relations between Managua and the Holy See.
Central America
Cardinal Rodríguez to Attend Funeral of Pope Francis: “He Was Very Dear to Me”
Honduran Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez announced on Monday that he will attend the funeral services of Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 at his residence in Casa Santa Marta due to a stroke.
“We will be there throughout the novena and then, God willing, at the burial,” Rodríguez said in a phone interview with HRN Radio in Tegucigalpa, apparently calling from Spain.
He added that the last time he saw Pope Francis was in October 2024, during and at the end of that year’s synod, and that they remained in contact through email. “Sometimes, the Pope would even call me,” said Rodríguez, who was born on December 29, 1942, and was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on February 21, 2001.
Rodríguez expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Pope Francis, saying: “He was a very dear person to me.”
However, he also shared a message of hope, pointing out that the Holy Father passed away during Easter: “This is a sign. He gave his life completely like the Lord Jesus, and though he died, we believe in faith that he has risen, now with Christ in eternal life.”
Rodríguez, who for ten years coordinated the Vatican’s Council of Cardinals, was one of the eight cardinals selected by Pope Francis to help govern the Catholic Church and reform the Roman Curia.
In January 2023, upon turning 80, Rodríguez stepped down as Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, and Pope Francis appointed Spanish priest José Vicente Nácher Tatay as his successor.
Central America
Senator Van Hollen Meets with Deported MS-13 Member in El Salvador; Trump and Bukele React
U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, representing the state of Maryland, held a meeting in El Salvador with deported MS-13 gang member Kilmar Ábrego García, a member of the criminal group classified by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization.
“Kilmar Ábrego García, miraculously resurrected from the ‘extermination camps’ and ‘torture chambers,’ now sipping margaritas with Senator Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” wrote President Nayib Bukeleon X (formerly Twitter), sharing photos of Van Hollen, Ábrego García, and a lawyer sitting together at a Salvadoran hotel.
The deported gang member is seen wearing a plaid shirt and a flat-brimmed cap, seated at a table with glasses and coffee cups. The senator also shared images of the meeting on his own social media accounts.
Bukele reaffirmed that Ábrego will remain in El Salvador and will not be returned to the United States.
“Now that his health has been confirmed, he has earned the honor of remaining under the custody of El Salvador,” Bukele added.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the senator’s meeting with Ábrego on Truth Social, calling Van Hollen “a fool” for advocating for Ábrego’s return to the U.S.
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