Central America

Guatemala’s anti-corruption commissioner, Santiago Palomo, says that the State is in a “critical” condition

The anti-corruption commissioner of the Government of Guatemala, Santiago Palomo, assures that the first months in office have been “a roller coaster” after having found a State “in critical conditions” in the face of the indications that between 2 billion and 3 billion dollars were embezzled during the presidency of Alejandro Giammattei (2020-2024).

Palomo, a 29-year-old lawyer graduated from Harvard University (USA), said during an interview with EFE that his first months in the position, appointed by the president, Bernardo Arévalo de León, have been “intense” and comparable to “a roller coaster.”

“We are trying to navigate in an Executive body that we receive in critical conditions. We identify a pattern when chatting with the new ministers and secretaries: they describe it as a dead rat in each drawer that is opened. This is how the conditions in which the Government was assumed are defined,” Palomo explains.

According to experts cited by local and international media, the Government of Giammattei could have embezzled up to 3 billion dollars between 2020 and 2024.

Precisely the Corruption Perception Index of 2023 placed Guatemala in 2023 among the five countries with the most embezzlement of state funds. Only behind Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Honduras.

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Commissioner Palomo says that the corruption found operated under the same pattern. “Relevant financial disbursements from 70% to 90%” for the construction of “public works that are being thrown away, such as schools and roads, whose progress does not exceed 30% or 40%.”

According to the official, “this is how these corruption structures worked in the State, right now they are still trying to operate,” the official remarked.

The Government of Arévalo de León denounced Amelia Flores, former Minister of Health of Giammattei, before the courts of justice on April 4, for anomalies in the purchase of 16 million doses of the Russian Sputnik vaccine, in 2021 for a total amount of 615 million quetzals (79 million dollars).

According to various sources, many of the vaccines never reached the Central American country and others expired before their application.

“The case of vaccines shows that they were willing to pursue their own interests to the detriment of the most sacred thing, which was the health of the population, in the midst of a pandemic. It is a case that reflects how unscrupulous the degree of corruption of the previous Administration became,” says Palomo.

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Last week Palomo, along with the Minister of Communications, Jazmín de la Vega, denounced two former officials for a possible fraud in the assignment of contracts to a company for the construction of 14 schools for an amount between 45 and 60 million quetzals (between five and seven million dollars approximately).

The anti-corruption tsar explains that it is up to the Executive Body to detect and prevent cases of corruption from occurring in its Administration. But that is the Public Ministry (Attorney’s Office) that “is responsible for investigating and prosecuting.”

“The Prosecutor’s Office does not have a real commitment to investigate serious cases of corruption,” it is not an ally in the fight against corruption,” which becomes a real challenge, Palomo recognizes, although, he said, the Administration of Arévalo does not intend to stop denouncing the anomalies that are found in the various ministries.

In 2023, the Prosecutor’s Office, led by Consuelo Porras Argueta, tried to stop the electoral victory of Arévalo de León in the general elections through various criminal cases and dozens of governments around the world sanctioned his action, including that of the United States and members of the European Union.

Arévalo de León surprisingly prevailed over the traditional politics of Guatemala thanks to his offer to heal the corruption of the State that has caused a significant democratic deterioration in the last 30 years.

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Palomo concludes that assuming the anti-corruption arm of this Government for the next four years is “a great responsibility.” An “opportunity to improve the dignity of the public service.”

Related Topics:anti-corruption Guatemala Santiago Palomo

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Central America

Panama Will Not Be Threatened, President Says Amid Rising Tensions With China

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino warned on Thursday that his country “will not allow itself to be threatened,” while expressing hope that tensions with China will ease following the cancellation of a contract allowing a Hong Kong-based company to operate ports along the Panama Canal.

Earlier this week, China, through its Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said Panama would pay “a high price” for annulling the concession that has allowed a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings to manage two ports on the interoceanic waterway since 1997.

The decision has angered Beijing, which, according to Bloomberg, has urged its state-owned companies to suspend negotiations on new projects with the Central American country.

“Panama is a dignified country and will not allow itself to be threatened by any nation on Earth,” Mulino said during a press conference when asked about China’s warnings.

However, the president added that he hopes the situation will not escalate. “I hope this does not spiral further; there is no reason for it to do so,” he said.

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The ruling by Panama’s Supreme Court came amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal—built by the United States—arguing that it is “under Beijing’s control.”

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian warned on Wednesday that Beijing “will firmly defend the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies.”

Central America

Bukele’s Approval Rating Climbs to 91.9% in El Salvador, Survey Shows

Approval of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele reached 91.9% at the end of 2025, up from 85.2% recorded in midyear, according to a survey conducted by the research unit of La Prensa Gráfica (LPG Datos) and published on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, the high approval rating is “mainly driven by improvements in security.” Of those surveyed, 62.8% said they “strongly approve” of Bukele’s performance, while 29.1% said they “somewhat approve.”

The main reasons cited for approving the president were the perception that security in the country has improved (33%), followed by the belief that the government has delivered changes and overall improvements (14.3%), and the view that Bukele has done a good job in general (11%), the report said.

Meanwhile, 5.9% of respondents said they disapprove of Bukele’s administration. Among them, 25.4% said that improvements have been limited solely to security, 5.6% cited a lack of transparency, and 2.8% pointed to arbitrary detentions.

“The approval of President Nayib Bukele stands at one of the highest levels since the start of his administration,” La Prensa Gráfica noted. According to the survey’s historical data, Bukele’s peak popularity was recorded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when his annual average approval reached 92.5%, a figure even higher than that seen during the state of emergency.

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Regarding campaign promises, 64.2% of Salvadorans believe that Bukele “is fulfilling the promises he made,” while 22.9% say he has “partially fulfilled” them, and 6.6% say he has “not fulfilled his commitments.”

When asked about the main “failure” of the president’s administration, 37% said there were none, while 10% pointed to the economy.

Central America

Laura Fernández Says She Will ‘Never’ Allow Authoritarianism in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s president-elect, right-wing leader Laura Fernández, said she will “never” allow authoritarianism under her government, in her first speech after winning Sunday’s presidential election.

Fernández, the political heir of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, has been accused by her opponents of seeking to steer the country toward authoritarian rule through her hardline proposals against drug trafficking and plans to reform state institutions.

“I, as the new president of the Republic, will never allow authoritarianism or arbitrariness—things that no one wants in Costa Rica,” Fernández said to cheers from her supporters gathered at a hotel in the capital.

The 39-year-old political scientist criticized her rivals for centering their campaign on what she described as a narrative of “authoritarianism and dictatorship.”

“They tried to scare voters, but the electorate did not fall into the trap,” she said.

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Without offering details, Fernández acknowledged that her administration will seek to change the country’s “political rules of the game,” in what she described as a necessary step for Costa Rica, one of Latin America’s most stable democracies.