Canada sanctions Guatemala’s Attorney General and three other officials
Toronto, Canada, Feb 20 (EFE).- Canada on Tuesday imposed sanctions against Guatemala’s Attorney General Consuelo Porras, two prosecutors and a judge for “committing acts of significant corruption and gross and systematic human rights violations.”
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced that the sanctions include Special Prosecutor against Impunity Rafael Curruchiche, Prosecutor Cinthia Monterroso, and Judge Jimi Bremer.
“The sanctioned individuals have worked relentlessly to undermine democracy and prevent a peaceful transition of power,” the Canadian government said in a statement.
Adding that the sanctions “will serve to deter obstructionist actions by corrupt public officials” and to “support the democratically elected” government of President Bernardo Arévalo.
The Guatemalan Attorney General’s Office rejected the sanctions in a statement on Tuesday, saying they were “spurious accusations” and an attempt against “the regime of legality and democracy.”
Canada decided to join the United States and the European Union in imposing sanctions against Guatemalan officials for trying to overturn Arevalo’s 2023 election victory.
All four officials are on the US State Department’s Engel list of “individuals who have knowingly engaged in acts that threaten democratic processes or institutions” in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Porras was added in 2021, Curruchiche in 2022, and Monterroso and Bremer in 2023.
Tuesday’s sanctions prevent Canadian citizens, companies or residents from maintaining relations with the four Guatemalan officials, freezing any assets they may have in the North American country and preventing them from traveling there.
Since July 12, 2023, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Consuelo Porras has been trying to eliminate the Seed Movement Party of Arévalo through various criminal proceedings and has filed three petitions to lift the immunity of the current head of state of Guatemala.
Arévalo responded by publicly accusing Porras of leading a “coup d’état” against him to prevent his inauguration, which finally took place on Jan. 14.
The new president of Guatemala, the Central American country’s first social democratic president, won the elections on an anti-corruption campaign, surprisingly defeating the traditional candidates in the polls. EFE
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