After the impeachment of the anti-corruption prosecutor, hundreds of Guatemalans demand the resignation of President Giammattei | Juan Francisco Sandoval left Guatemala out of fear for his physical integrity

Hundreds of Guatemalans demonstrated on Monday as part of a national strike called by various organizations to demand the resignation of President Alejandro Giammattei and Attorney General Consuelo Porras. In different parts of the country, citizens expressed his rejection of the dismissal on Friday of the head of the special prosecutor against impunity (FECI) of the public prosecutor’s office, Juan Francisco Sandoval. A day after his departure, Sandoval left Guatemala out of fear for his physical integrity.

In recent years, the lawyer has been a champion in the fight against corruption in Guatemala. He played a key role between 2014 and 2018 in the dismantling of more than 60 state structures of corruption, including the capture of former president Otto Pérez Molina in 2015. Faced with his surprise dismissal, Sandoval received support from social leaders, opposition politicians and the United States government, who had come to reward him for his fight against corruption.

It’s a statement, the indigenous mayor of the town of Palin considered Sandoval’s departure “illegal” and warned that it was “to defend the large corrupt and criminal networks that have plundered” the country. “We join the national strike,” said National Assembly of Women Maya Poqoman, calling on all peoples and organizations to join the protest to “reclaim” territory and unity.

Student representatives before the University Board of Governors of the University of San Carlos also expressed their discomfort. In Chisec, municipality of Alta Verapaz, the tuctuqueros (drivers of passenger transport mopeds) joined the national strike with the paralysis of their activities throughout the day.

Monday’s protests follow those on Saturday, in which hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the Guatemalan capital calling for the resignation of Giammattei and Porras, which they renamed “Déconsolation”. In front of the former seat of government, dozens of protesters shaved their heads in rejection of statements by the president, who said only “about 150 bald men” (skinned) were protesting.

Cross accusations

Head of the FECI, Sandoval was dismissed from his post on Friday by the Attorney General Porras when he accused him of alleged “frequent abuses and abuses” of the institutionality of the prosecution service.. In newspaper statements Free press, Porras said several cases of people investigated “at the convenience” of Sandoval have been detected, who “omitted others indicated by their friendship with them.” However, before leaving the country, Sandoval said she was the one with links to “areas that generate impunity”.

38-year-old lawyer, Sandoval left Guatemala and traveled overland to the Las Chinamas border to enter El Salvador, as confirmed by mediator Jordán Rodas, who accompanied him until he left the territory. His departure came hours after a marathon press conference in which he said the attorney general halted various investigations against the Giammattei government and earlier efforts.

Sandoval referred to a November 2020 investigation linked to fugitive José Luis Benito, a former communications minister under the administration of former President Jimmy Morales, who “embarrassed too much” some power groups. The investigation linked to the discovery of $ 17 million in cash in a residence led Sandoval to investigate Giorgio Bruni, former private secretary to current President Giammattei.

Generalized repudiation

The Secretary of State of the United States, Antoine Blink, condemned the dismissal of the prosecutor Sandoval, a measure which he said reinforces “impunity” in this Central American country. “We are on the side of the Guatemalan people and the prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval, whom I rewarded this year with a Champion Anticorruption prize”Blinken wrote on his Twitter account. “His dismissal undermines the rule of law and strengthens the forces that generate impunity. The Guatemalans deserve better,” he added in the brief message.

For her part, the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Guatemalan indigenous leader, Rigoberta Menchú, expressed his indignation “for this new illegality and violation of the Constitution” of the country. In a statement, he called for the return of the former prosecutor and “the resignation, trial and punishment of those responsible for violating the Constitution.”

Deputy Aldo davila, of the opposition party Winaq, He presented this Monday to the private secretariat of the Guatemalan presidency a letter in which a group of lawmakers “formally” asked for the resignation of President Giammattei. The letter, explained Dávila, was received at this institution and the president will now have eight days to respond to the request.