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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Guatemala raises police death toll to nine after gang violence escalates

Guatemalan authorities raised the death toll of police officers killed in a wave of gang violence to nine on Monday, after one officer wounded in the attacks died from his injuries. The violence prompted the government to declare a state of siege.

Criminal gangs launched a series of coordinated attacks against police forces across several parts of the country in retaliation for the government’s recapture of three prisons, where gang leaders had been holding dozens of prison guards hostage. Authorities said the hostages were used to pressure officials into transferring gang leaders to facilities with looser security measures.

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Central America

Guatemala prison uprisings leave 46 guards held by gangs

Gang members staged riots, took prison guards hostage and set fires on Saturday at several prisons in Guatemala, in protest over the transfer of their leaders to a maximum-security facility and the implementation of new confinement measures, authorities said.

The Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gangs — both designated as terrorist organizations by the United States and Guatemala — are accused of contract killings, extortion and drug trafficking. Guatemala’s Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda, confirmed that the unrest affected three prison facilities.

Villeda said the riots did not result in any fatalities or injuries, but 46 prison guards are currently being held hostage by gang members.

The minister stated that the government is willing to engage in dialogue to secure the release of the detained personnel, regain control of the prison facilities and ensure that inmates submit to internal regulations and the rule of law.

“Dialogue, not negotiation. We are dealing with terrorist structures that are financed and well organized. These are terrorist groups with whom we will not negotiate. The State is acting with legitimacy and in accordance with the law,” Villeda said.

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According to official figures, 18 guards are being held at the Renovación 1 prison and the Preventive Detention Center for Men in Zone 18 — nine at each facility — while another 28 guards are hostages at the Fraijanes 2 prison.

Villeda acknowledged that all three prisons remain under gang control, but stressed that authorities are prioritizing the safety of those being held. “We will guarantee their lives and respect for them. We will take whatever time is necessary to retake control of the prisons,” he said.

The minister also warned that the prison riots are part of what he described as an “orchestrated plan,” which has included road blockades in other parts of the country and the destruction of penitentiary infrastructure and records.

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