US condemns dismissal of Guatemala’s anti-corruption attorney general | international | News

The United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, on Sunday condemned the dismissal of Guatemala’s anti-corruption attorney general, Juan Francisco Sandoval, an action in his view that promotes “impunity” in the Central American country.

In a tweet, the US Secretary of State expressed his support for Sandoval, the main anti-corruption bastion in Guatemala for the past three years, which was sacked by Chief Prosecutor Consuelo Porras on Friday.

“We stand with the Guatemalan people and Attorney General Juan Francisco Sandoval, whom I recognized this year with the Anti-Corruption Hero Award,” Blinken wrote.

“His dismissal undermines the rule of law and strengthens the forces that breed impunity. Guatemalans deserve better,” he added in the short message.

Sandoval, 38, was a major player in the fight against corruption in Guatemala, which saw a boom between 2014 and 2019 at the hands of former Prosecutor (2014-2018) Thelma Aldana and Director of the International Commission Against Impunity. In Guatemala (Sesig), Colombian lawyer Ivan Velasquez.

On Saturday, about 500 Guatemalans demonstrated in the center of the country’s capital in support of the ousted lawmaker.

government corruption

the Investigations led by Sandoval, Aldana and Velasquez uncovered dozens of cases of state corruption, and indicted more than 200 people including ministers, officials and businessmen as well as former presidents Otto Pérez Molina (2012-2015) and Alvaro Colom Caballeros (2008-2012).

On Friday, Boras claimed she had fired Sandoval for “repeated violations and abuses” of the institutions, and denounced that she herself was the victim of alleged “insults”.

For his part, Sandoval clarified on Friday that since 2019, when Porras took office appointed by former President Jimmy Morales (2016-2020), the authority of the Special Prosecutor to Combat Impunity (FECI), under his mandate, has diminished, primarily to engage in Investigations against the current government.

According to the lawyer, an investigation in November 2020 in connection with the former Minister of Communications during the administration of Morales, José Luis Benito, who is currently on the run, “very disturbed” some power groups.

An investigation linked to the discovery of $17 million in cash in Sandoval’s home led to the investigation of Giorgio Bruni, the former private secretary to the current President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giamatti.

Sandoval left Guatemala on Saturday for exile via El Salvadoror without revealing their final destination.

His dismissal sparked a protest by about 500 Guatemalans who demonstrated on Saturday in the center of the country’s capital, with slogans directed against Boras and Giamatti. (I)