The tension between the governments of Guatemala and Colombia is increasing.
This Monday, the Central American country's prosecutor's office announced that it was opening an investigation into the Odebrecht case against the current Colombian Defense Minister, Iván Velázquez, who was head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala between 2013 and 2017. President Petro responded immediately to the news, questioning the validity of that judicial decision against his minister.
“We will defend him, he will continue to be our minister.
If Guatemala insists on imprisoning just men, well, we have nothing to do with Guatemala,” declared the president, who also announced that he was calling the Colombian ambassador in Guatemala, Victoria González Ariza, for consultations.
The Government of Guatemala returned the message on Tuesday with equal hostility.
"The Ministry of Foreign Relations, in response to the almost 200 years of a fraternal relationship between Colombia and Guatemala, rejects the outburst of the Government of Colombia towards the Guatemalan Justice," says a short statement from the Ministry of Foreign Relations, announcing that they will also call to your ambassador for inquiries.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets that the Government of Colombia turns a matter of legal order into a political one, making abrupt decisions without following the corresponding diplomatic steps.
In this sense, we have decided for reciprocity to call the Guatemalan ambassador in Colombia for consultations”.
Added to this diplomatic clash was the US Undersecretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, Brian Nichols, who expressed concern about the rule of law in the Central American country.
Nichols did not mention the Velásquez case, but rather the arrest warrants that the Guatemalan prosecutor's office also issued against other anti-corruption investigators: Thelma Aldana (former attorney general);
Mayra Véliz (former secretary of the Public Ministry);
David Gaitán (former CICIG president), Pablo Carrasco (lawyer and former Odebrecht adviser).
“Concerned about the arrest warrants from the Guatemalan Public Ministry against people who worked to guarantee accountability for corruption in the Odebrecht case in Guatemala.
Such actions undermine the rule of law and trust in the Guatemalan judicial system.”
Disturbed by @MPguatemala's arrest warrants against individuals who worked to ensure accountability for corruption in the Odebrecht case in Guatemala.
Such actions weaken the rule of law and confidence in Guatemala's judicial system.
— Brian A. Nichols (@WHAAsstSecty) January 17, 2023
The credibility of Guatemalan justice is in question.
The arrest warrants and the investigation against Velázquez were announced by prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, one of the people included by the United States in the 'Engel List', in June 2022. It is a list of the North American Government that points to people that they have "threatened democratic institutions or processes, have been engaged in significant acts of corruption, or have obstructed investigations of such acts of corruption in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador."
Among those indicated is the prosecutor Curruchiche, accused of "obstructing investigations into acts of corruption, interrupting high-profile cases against government officials."
Also in the crosshairs of the United States is the head of Curruchinche, the attorney general of Guatemala, named Consuelo Porras.
The US State Department included her in 2021 on a list of "corrupt and undemocratic" actors for her constant obstruction of justice.
However, Porras has had the support of Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, who last year renewed her for four more years as attorney general.
Faced with the accusations from the United States, Giammattei did not seem concerned.
"The media or political accusations that may exist according to our Constitution have no value to strip a person of their capacity, suitability and honesty," he said then in defense of Porras.
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