Guatemalan prosecutor labeled corrupt by U.S. gets tapped for new term & More News Here

GUATEMALA CITY, May 16 (Reuters) – Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei reappointed the nation’s lawyer basic to a new term on Monday, prompting U.S. sanctions, simply months after the prosecutor was accused by the U.S. authorities of dismantling anti-corruption efforts.

Shortly after the announcement, the U.S. authorities deemed Maria Consuelo Porras ineligible for entry into the United States, citing “involvement in significant corruption,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned. learn extra

Last yr, Porras was included within the record of “corrupt and anti-democratic actors” printed by the U.S. State Department, singled out for thwarting corruption investigations with arrests and different actions.

Guatemala’s Public Ministry responded to the U.S. designation on Monday by describing itself as an autonomous establishment that might not settle for any interference or strain.

“The Attorney General … will keep working objectively and impartially to ensure strict compliance with the law,” the Public Ministry mentioned in a press release.

Giammattei in current days had blasted as interventionist calls to disclaim Porras a second term, and defended her document as neutral and non-ideological.

Giammattei mentioned final week he obtained calls, threats and a go to from the ambassador of a “foreign power” asking him to not re-appoint Porras.

Following Giammattei’s contemporary vote of confidence, Porras will stay in her put up 4 extra years, after first taking up as lawyer basic in 2018. learn extra

“This wasn’t a simple decision taken lightly,” Giammattei mentioned.

After the 68-year-old lawyer fired the previous head of the Guatemalan Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) final yr, claims that Porras was obstructing investigations associated to Giammattei grew. learn extra

During Porras’s first term her workplace additionally arrested a number of FECI officers in addition to a lawyer from the United Nations-backed anti-corruption fee CICIG, which was expelled from Guatemala in 2018 after its probes led to convictions of former presidents and high-level businessmen. learn extra

Other FECI officers resigned claiming they had been pushed out in a political persecution, which Porras has denied. learn extra

Corruption in Guatemala is usually cited as a significant factor behind elevated migration to the United States, together with joblessness and gang violence.

Some civil society leaders additionally criticized the decide.

“Porras has been dedicated to stopping corruption investigations and pushing spurious cases against journalists, prosecutors and judges,” Juan Pappier of Human Rights Watch wrote in a put up on Twitter. “Guatemalan democracy is at serious risk.”

Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by Valentine Hilaire and Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by David Alire, Stephen Coates and Gerry Doyle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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