The United States and the European Union consider the prosecutor Consuelo Porras “corrupt” and “undemocratic” and have criticized the crusade he initiated in 2023 against Arévalo and his Social Democratic Seed party, which was disqualified by the justice system.
Guatemala’s highest court on Thursday rejected a request from the prosecution to prosecute President Bernardo Arévalo and dismiss some of his officials.
“Without the request,” the Constitutional Court said in a resolution, rejecting the request of the questioned Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, who since 2023 has been fighting with Arévalo.
On 31 July Porras asked the Court to initiate proceedings to withdraw Arévalo’s immunity to prosecute him for allegedly “not complying” with a May ruling of that body that required the president and other officials to refrain from action against her, whose term expires in May 2026.
The United States and the European Union consider the prosecutor “corrupt” and “undemocratic” and have criticized the crusade he initiated in 2023 against Arévalo and his Seed Social Democratic party, which was disqualified by justice.
“Today, unanimously and in accordance with the law, the Constitutional Court has declared null and void the request […] made by the Attorney General,” said the secretary general of the Presidency, Juan Guerrero, on the X network, one of the officials included in Porras’ request.
Arévalo, in power since January, has lacked the power to remove Porras, but has publicly called for his resignation, considering that his “corrupt” actions violate democracy in the country.
One day after Porras’ request, the president asked the Supreme Court to initiate proceedings to remove the immunity from the prosecutor and asked the Constitutional Court to revoke the amparo it had granted to Porras in May.
Both applications were rejected. The Supreme Court did so on August 14 and the Constitutional Court on Thursday, in the same ruling that rejected the prosecutor’s request.
The president also introduced a bill in May to obtain the power to remove the prosecutor, but the bill has not advanced in Congress.
Since 2022, Porras has ordered investigations against dozens of former justice officials who investigated corruption cases, journalists, activists and critics of the previous government of the right-wing Alejandro Giammattei (2020-2024).
This article has been translated after first appearing in Diario El Mundo