The Guatemalan Public Ministry has arrested an internationally renowned lawyer as part of their campaign of revenge against those involved in past anti-corruption efforts in the Central American country.
Lawyers for Human Rights
On August 28, police and investigators raided the home of lawyer Claudia González, who previously worked with the the United Nations-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, commonly known as CICIG, before that body was forced to close in 2019. González most recently represented two anti-corruption lawyers: Virigina Laparra, a former investigator with the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity who faced charges for denouncing a judge, and Juan Francisco Sandoval, the former head of the same Special Prosecutor’s office who has faced multiple investigations and arrest warrants since being forced in July 2021 into exile in the United States by the administration of Alejandro Giammattei.
González is now being accused of “abuse of authority.”
On August 28, police and investigators raided the home of lawyer Claudia González.
Her arrest has come as a great concern to her former colleagues and represents a continuation of the attacks on those who have worked to fight corruption.
“This is very worrying because it continues to reflect that the Public Ministry has become an instrument that criminalizes and represses voices that have been key in the fight against corruption,” Ana María Méndez Dardón, who worked with González at CICIG and is the current Central American director for the Washington Office on Latin America, tells The Progressive.
“It is a very shocking and painful image, but it is an example of the courage that she has; the courage to defend principles and defend democracy in Guatemala,” she says. “She is an exemplary lawyer.”
González has been recognized internationally for her work. She was presented with the prestigious Lawyers for Lawyers Award in 2023.
According to reports by media and human rights groups, the case against González stems from her part in the prosecution of Supreme Court magistrate Blanca Stalling, who was accused of intervening in a case against her son by trying to influence the judge overseeing the case. Stalling was absolved of the charges in 2022, reclaiming her position on the court.
In the same operation, investigators from the Public Ministry and from the National Civilian Police raided the home of Sandoval’s parents in Guatemala City and the home of Eva Siomara Sosa, who also worked with the Special Prosecutor’s office. Sandoval took to Twitter to denounce the raiding of his parent’s home, accusing investigators of intimidating his elderly parents.
The moves against González, Sandoval, and Sosa have received condemnation from the international community. Human rights organizations such as the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International have condemned González’s arrest. Luis Almagro, the Secretary General of the Organization of the American States, also condemned the arrest and raids, posting on Twitter that the raids mean the loss of “credibility of justice and its functioning.”
The raids and the arrest were authorized by Judge Jimi Rodlfo Bremer Ramírez, a judge who was sanctioned and listed in July 2023 on the Engel List, a U.S. State Department listing of corrupt and anti-democratic actors.
The arrest comes just a week after Bernardo Arévalo of the progressive anti-corruption Movimento Semilla party won the presidential run-off election in Guatemala. Arévalo had promised to bring home the dozens of former anti-corruption prosecutors, judges, investigators, activists, and journalists who have been forced into exile in the almost four years since CICIG was closed.
Paco Guzmán Podcast, CC BY 3.0
Bernardo Arévalo speaks on a podcast during the presidential campaign, June 2023.
The move to continue the attacks against those who were previously part of anti-corruption efforts with the arrest of González and the continued persecution of Sandoval are viewed by analysts as a message to the anti-corruption efforts of the incoming president.
Arévalo and his vice presidential candidate, Karin Herrera, have been granted special protection following calls from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for additional security. The increase in security stemmed from two credible threats against the candidates’ lives.
The Public Ministry has also continued their efforts to suspend the registration of the Movimiento Semilla party following their victory on August 20.
Just a week after the elections, Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced the provisional suspension of the Movimiento Semilla Party. In spite of this, the electoral body also certified the electoral results, ensuring that Arévalo and Herrera can take office on January 14.
However, Movimiento Semilla’s suspension will hinder the party in congress.
Just after the electoral victory, the current head of the Special Anti-Impunity Prosecutor’s office, Rafael Curruchiche, issued a letter to the country’s congress saying that, in his opinion, Movimiento Semilla was suspended. The suspension of the party would mean that none of the twenty-three congressional representatives who were elected in the June 25 general elections would not be permitted to serve on any commissions that form legislation.
Movimiento Semilla’s suspension will hinder the party in congress.
“They are left without a party,” Luis Mack, an independent political analyst, tells The Progressive. “And the [law that restricts] ‘crossing the floor’ could be applied to them, barring congressional representatives from Movimiento Semilla from assuming positions on the Board of Directors of Congress, which is the body that obviously has the most power, and that would reduce the party’s mobility.”
As the Attorney General’s office continues to persecute those involved in anti-corruption efforts, Attorney General María Consuelo Porras has sought to silence criticisms on social media.
U.S. Embassy/Public domain.
Fiscal General Maria Consuelo Porras at an event at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, May 2018.
On August 25, Porras filed a legal complaint in the county’s highest court, the Constitutional Court. The complaint stems from alleged violation of the autonomy of the Public Ministry after dozens of citizens, including a number of journalists, criticized her office for its continued attacks against the democratic process.
Days later, on August 28, the court rejected the attorney general’s complaint. Yet the fact that Porras believes she could use the courts to silence critics raises concerns as she becomes more embattled.
“[This] represents a threat against freedom of expression,” Méndez Dardón says. “An attorney general cannot limit the opinion of a citizenry.”
As Méndez Dardón points out, the move by Porras comes as criticism against her has greatly escalated since she was re-elected in May 2022. She tells The Progressive this type of move is a “mockery” of democratic and human rights. Mack adds that Porras’ complaint before the court was “outside the legal margin.”
Porras and Curruchiche have increasingly faced calls for their resignation as they have sought to intervene in the country’s electoral process. Since July, there have been multiple protests outside of the main Public Ministry offices demanding their resignation.
Since 2021, the pair has overseen the persecution of those involved in anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala. Both are listed by the U.S. Department of State as corrupt and anti-democratic actors on the Engel List. But these sanctions do little, and have led to calls for stronger sanctions from the United States.
“Let's hope that at some point the United States will clarify [its position on the current political crisis].”—Luis Mack
“Some are already asking to apply the Magnitsky Act, which would be an escalation in sanctions,” Mack says. “But to me it seems the United States is playing a lukewarm game.”
He adds, “Let's hope that at some point the United States will clarify [its position on the current political crisis].”