Bernardo Arévalo says they found spy devices in the presidential office

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By LatAm Reports Staff Writers

President Bernardo Arévalo reported that they make electronic sweeps in several dependencies and as a result found some toys in the presidential office.

President Bernardo Arévalo revealed this Wednesday, January 24, that after an electronic sweep they located some toys in his office, in reference to audio and video devices that were installed for purposes that he did not release.

During a press conference, President Arévalo was asked whether action will be taken following the complaint of the Minister of Communications, Jazmín de La Vega, about the finding of microphones in one of the vehicles in the portfolio, and the president replied that an electronic sweep is already taking place in several units of the State.

Arévalo says that electronic sweeps have been done in different areas and confirmed that some toys have been located.

“We made an electronic sweep and in the presidential office we found some toys, it can be said that some of the toys were old and others were new,” Arévalo said.

When consulted by the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency, it was reported that the toys referred to by the president are microphones and chambers.

When performing the electronic sweep, audio and video devices were located, and that is what Mr. President Bernardo Arévalo this afternoon as toys, they reported.

At the moment it is unknown whether these devices were hidden or part of the Presidency’s security systems, as the issue has not been further elaborated.

Arévalo assumed the presidency on 14 January, after having overcome a series of judicial obstacles initiated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) against him and against his party, the Seed Movement.

From that account, Arévalo quoted on Wednesday the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras Argueta, who is said to try to avoid her investiture, to appear before the Council of Ministers next Monday, after the official refused to meet him this day.

“The law obliges you to present yourself to the Council of Ministers, if you do not attend, you would be committing non-compliance with duties,” Arévalo said at a press conference, after announcing her decision to summon the attorney general again.

Porras Argueta, who has led the MP since 2018, refused to attend a meeting to which she was invited by Arévalo to give a management report and also said, through a video, that she will not resign from the position of attorney general.

This article has been translated from the original which first appeared in Prensa Libre