Central America

Justice moves forward in cases against Guatemala’s president-elect

Photo: EFE

December 13 |

Both the Attorney General’s Office and a Guatemalan court judge advanced, by different paths, in separate investigations against the president-elect of that Central American country, Bernardo Arévalo.

The Attorney General’s Office delivered this Monday to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) a report of the investigation on alleged anomalies for which it considers “null” the elections won by Arevalo last summer.

This followed Friday’s announcement by the Attorney General’s Office when it said it had detected irregularities in the vote count of the first round of June elections, although the president of the TSE, Blanca Alfaro, qualified that same day that the results of the elections “are unalterable” and that Arevalo must assume power on January 14.

But, the day before, “the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity sent to the Magistrate President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the criminal investigation developed by the Prosecutor’s Office, so that after the analysis, they can adopt the decision they consider convenient”, it was reported.

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According to the Prosecutor’s Office, there were a series of anomalies in the final minutes of the closing of the scrutiny in the elections of president, vice-president, deputies, corporations and deputies to the Central American Parliament.

Meanwhile, a judge sentenced this Monday an electoral official to two and a half years in prison for the alleged case of false signatures used for the creation of the Semilla Movement, Arévalo de León’s party.

According to several experts and Arévalo de León himself, this case of the alleged false signatures is part of the attempts of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Fiscalía) to prevent the president-elect from taking office on January 14.

The sentence, ordered by criminal judge Fredy Orellana, was against an unidentified official of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, informed a statement from the Attorney General’s Office: the “sentenced person accepted his responsibility in the commission of the crimes”, and the sentence given is two years and six months in prison, said the Public Prosecutor’s Office, although in Guatemala prison sentences may be commutable if they are less than five years.

Arévalo de León, who enjoys immunity both for his current position as congressman and for the presidential election he won, is accused in the same case being handled by Judge Orellana.

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Last September 1, Arévalo de León warned that the attorney general and head of the Public Ministry, Consuelo Porras Argueta, is carrying out a “coup d’état” against him in order to prevent his investiture in January.

Related Topics:Bernardo Arévalo Central America Guatemala

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President Bernardo Arévalo initially imposed a state of siege in mid-January following the violence, which was reportedly in retaliation for government intervention in three prisons where gang leaders had staged uprisings.

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Costa Rica closes embassy in Cuba, citing human rights concerns

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