The Organization of American States (OAS) stated this Monday, May 18, that it hopes that the decisions of the new attorney general and head of the Public Ministry (MP), Gabriel García Luna, “strengthen democracy” in Guatemala.
The OAS Special Mission in Guatemala assured in a statement that García Luna’s “first decisions” will be “determining” to “strengthen institutional independence, constitutional legality, professionalism, human rights and citizen trust” in the Prosecutor’s Office.
Likewise, he warned that “one of the main challenges” of the new head of the MP will be to address the “concerns expressed by different national and international sectors” regarding the “improper use of the criminal system to criminalize certain actors and guarantee impunity for others.”
García Luna took office last Sunday, replacing Consuelo Porras Argueta, who spent eight years at the head of the Prosecutor’s Office, in two periods marked by international sanctions against her for corruption and by judicial persecution against judges, former anti-corruption prosecutors and journalists, many of them still in exile.
The new attorney general took office on Sunday, May 17, as established by law, without formal acts or special reception, after being appointed this month by President Bernardo Arévalo for a four-year term.
In his first appearance before the press, on Sunday, García Luna announced the creation of a commission to review the situation of journalists, prosecutors, judges and exiled activists, as well as those who feel “fear” of judicial persecution of the former head of the MP.
The head of the MP indicated that the objective of the commission will be to verify the existing judicial processes against dozens of people who have denounced this judicial persecution during the last eight years.
The international sanctions against Porras Argueta were imposed for attempting to annul the 2023 election results, alleging alleged fraud that gave victory to Arévalo, and for corruption in the handling of high-impact cases.
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