The Secretary General of the Presidency of Guatemala, Juan Gerardo Guerrero, publicly denounced this Thursday that the Government of former President Alejandro Giammattei paid a law firm in the United States to “politically persecute” two former prosecutors of the Public Ministry (MP) exiled in that country. country and requested the Comptroller General of Accounts (CGC) to audit the MP, the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of Finance to clarify the fact.
Guerrero pointed out that the general secretary of the MP, Ángel Pineda, was the main person responsible for the persecution, for being the one who requested Giammattei's authorization to hire the firm, the Greenberg Taurig law firm, a strategy that, according to him, was approved by the attorney general, Consuelo. Porras.
This would be the second coup attempt by President Bernardo Arévalo against Porras in a week.
“I come to report to the population and to the Comptroller General of Accounts the possible use of public funds for the political persecution of Guatemalan citizens abroad,” Guerrero informed the media after presenting a letter to request the audit in the headquarters of the Comptroller's Office in Guatemala City.
The official explained that, according to information from the nation's new attorney general, on November 16, 2021, Pineda sent a letter to then-President Giammattei through which he required him to "pay" for a law firm in the United States in "defense of the interests of the State.”
The contract with the firm has records since 2022.
This, he assures, had the endorsement of the former president, Porras and the previous attorney, and received the budget allocation from the Ministry of Finance for which the State paid 461,600 quetzales per month, about 59,000 dollars.
Guerrero said that it is unknown how long the contract was maintained and that this will be something that the Comptroller's Office will have to find out.
Pineda later defended himself to local media, saying that the job had “a completely different spirit.”
“At that time, several state officials had been included in a type of international sanctions, including myself, the attorney general and some prosecutors from the Public Ministry,” he assured.
And he said that the request made to former President Giammattei was to “be able to defend the State of Guatemala.”
According to Guerrero, the two "persecuted" by that firm are Thelma Aldana, former attorney general of the MP, and Juan Francisco Sandoval, former head of the MP's Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity, both exiles and internationally recognized figures for their fight against corruption.
Now it will be up to the Comptroller's Office to carry out that special audit of the three institutions and determine whether or not criminal action is appropriate.
However, the comptroller was appointed during the previous Government and in the event of a complaint it would be presented to the MP, which is also the accused entity.
Another action against MP
On the other hand, on February 29, Julio Saavedra, current Attorney General of the Nation and the Secretary General of the Presidency, presented in the criminal management of the judicial body a complaint and request for withdrawal of the right of pre-trial against Consuelo Porras before the refusal of the attorney general to attend to the call that Arévalo made to her to participate in the Cabinet meeting at the end of January.
Bernardo Arévalo receives the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, in January in Guatemala City.-- (EFE/ Presidency of Guatemala)
This request must be known by the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, who would have to process it and, if so, then transfer it to the Congress of the Republic so that the process can continue.
The approval to leave Porras without immunity must have 107 votes in favor of the 160 deputies that make up the chamber.
However, the Executive is at a disadvantage because both the Court and Congress are in the hands of the opposition.
The MP described the action as “spurious”.
The president, Bernardo Arévalo, and the attorney general, Consuelo Porras, have been fighting since last year when he accused her of plotting a coup against him to prevent him from taking office last January.
Since then, the president assured that he would ask her to resign, but Porras has repeatedly responded that she will remain until 2026, when his term ends.
The MP is an autonomous entity, so Arévalo cannot dismiss her.
Porras and Pineda have been sanctioned and included in the list of corrupt people in the United States, while the European Union and Canada have banned them from entering their countries and have prohibited them from having bank accounts and doing business in their territories for “undermining democracy.” in Guatemala".
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