President of Guatemala re-elects attorney general sanctioned by the US in 2021

the president of Guatemala, Alexander Giammatteire-elected this Monday the attorney general and head of the Public Ministry, Consuelo Porras, for a new period of four years, despite the fact that last September she was accused by the United States of “obstructing” justice.

“Guatemala needs an attorney general with academic training and a professional career, who at all stages of his career has followed the principles of justice,” he said. Giammattei regarding your decision.

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batons She was sanctioned in September 2021 by the United States, which removed her visa and the possibility of entering its territory by publicly accusing her of “obstructing” justice in high-impact cases in Guatemala.

The penalty against batons It came after in July the attorney general and head of the Public Ministry removed from his position the anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval, who charged more than 200 high-profile people between 2014 and 2021 with corruption.

Giammattei appointed this Monday batons from a list of six candidates also made up of lawyers Néctor de León Ramírez, Darleene Monge Pinelo, Gabriel García Luna, Henry Elías Wilson and Jorge Luis Donado Aguilar, the latter the current Attorney General of the Nation (PGN).

The list of six candidates was defined by a Nomination Commission made up of the deans of the country’s universities and other authorities such as the Supreme Court of Justice and the College of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala.

The Nomination Commission began to review profiles in January of this year and initially chose 15 candidates to finally keep the list of six candidates for the position, made official in April, in a process widely criticized by various local and international sectors due to various “ irregularities”.

The main requirements to be the head of the Public Ministry in Guatemala are to be over 40 years old and a “recognized honorability”, among others, according to the law of the Central American nation.

The appointment of the new attorney general and head of the Public Ministry of Guatemala for the period 2022-2026 is transcendental for the fight against corruption in the Central American country, according to experts on the subject.

batons She will serve a second four-year term (2022-2026) after the one that began in 2018, when she was elected to the position by the president at the time, Jimmy Morales (2016-2020).

IN A PUBLIC ACT

Giammattei made his decision public in an act at the National Palace of Culture, seat of the Government, with the participation of batons and other politicians related to the Government.

batons He assured in the event that he has been handled with “impartiality” during his mandate and that “at all times” there has been a “regime of legality”.

The former attorney general and head of the Public Ministry, Thelma Aldana, led an anti-corruption fight between 2014 and 2018 that brought down the Government of Otto Pérez Molina (2012-2015) for several cases of corruption.

However, in 2018, after leaving office, she had to be exiled to the United States due to the alleged “criminalization” against her initiated by batons at the head of the Public Ministry.

At least 15 Guatemalan justice operators, including former anti-corruption prosecutors and high-impact judges, are in exile due to the alleged judicial persecution by Porras, as they have publicly denounced from abroad.

During the election process, batons was denounced by various sectors before the Postulation Commission due to alleged plagiarism in her doctoral thesis.

Source: Elcomercio

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