Guatemala arrests Indigenous leader of 2023 protests, accusing him of terrorism
Guatemalan authorities have arrested an Indigenous leader who spearheaded nationwide protests in 2023 that sought to ensure then President-elect Bernardo Arévalo’s transition to power while also demanding the resignation of the country’s attorney general
By SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press
April 23, 2025, 11:42 AM
GUATEMALA CITY -- Guatemalan authorities on Wednesday arrested an Indigenous leader of nationwide protests in 2023 that sought to ensure then President-elect Bernardo Arévalo’s transition to power while also demanding the resignation of the country’s attorney general.
The Attorney General’s Office accuses Luis Pacheco, now serving in Arévalo’s government, of terrorism and illicit association, according to an official who requested anonymity to speak about a case that a judge has declared under reserve.
In October 2023, Pacheco led an alliance of 48 Indigenous communities in peaceful protests that shut down highways across Guatemala for three weeks.
Despite Arévalo's resounding victory that August, the Attorney General’s Office continued to investigate the election and members of his party, accusing them among other things of improperly gathering signatures required for the party to form.
Attorney General Consuelo Porras has been the focus of much of that ire as she has refused to step down or halt her investigations into Arévalo’s party. The U.S. government has sanctioned her for allegedly impeding corruption investigations.
More:
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/guatemala-arrests-indigenous-leader-2023-protests-accusing-terrorism-121093720
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Human Rights Watch:
Guatemala: Attorney General Pursues Political Prosecutions
December 18, 2024 12:00AM EST
New Administration Targeted While Other Cases Languish
Guatemala's Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras in Guatemala City, November 26, 2024. ©2024 JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images
(Washington, DC, December 18, 2024) – Guatemala’s attorney general is carrying out politically motivated prosecutions against members of President Bernardo Arévalo’s administration, Human Rights Watch said today.
Since President Arévalo took office in January 2024, the Attorney General’s Office has moved forward with criminal investigations against the Arévalo administration that appear to be based on dubious evidence. In November, a judge ordered the cancelation of the president’s political party’s legal registration, as part of a case brought by the Attorney General’s Office. These decisions follow Attorney General Consuelo Porras’ efforts to prevent President Arévalo from taking office through a range of legal actions that the US government, the European Union, and members of the Organization of American States (OAS) criticized as efforts to undermine democracy.
“Attorney General Porras, who led an effort to unlawfully overturn the elections, is abusing the powers of her office to prosecute government officials through dubious evidence and legal maneuvers,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of investigating the organized crime and widespread corruption in Guatemala, the attorney general appears to be bringing these selective prosecutions to undermine a government she opposes.”
Between August and November, Human Rights Watch interviewed 11 people, including senior government officials, former prosecutors, lawmakers, and others. These included Ligia Hernández, a former government official and lawmaker, whom Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed while she was in pretrial detention at Matamoros prison. Researchers reviewed court documents and public statements by officials from the Attorney General??s Office. Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the attorney general on December 2 requesting information on her office’s investigations into corruption; she has not responded.
The Attorney General’s Office has initiated at least 17 investigations against high-level government officials, and at least six times asked the Supreme Court to strip President Arévalo of his immunity, so that he can be criminally investigated.
Human Rights Watch found that the attorney general repeatedly accused government officials of committing offenses, such as “abuse of power” on the basis of alleged conduct that does not appear to be criminal. In many cases, following seemingly exaggerated accusations against the government in high-profile news conferences, prosecutors then declared cases “classified.” This has hampered the ability of the public at large—and often the defendants and their lawyers—to understand the nature of the investigations.
More:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/18/guatemala-attorney-general-pursues-political-prosecutions
Trump's first U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr
Bernardo Arévalo, the current president she's been desperate to destroy from the first.
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