The Comptroller General of Accounts (CGC) carried out an audit of the food purchases made by the Ministry of the Interior (Mingob) in 2025, and detected possible irregularities in the execution of Q291 million 148 thousand 346.57.
This is according to a note sent by the CGC itself to the Minister of the Interior Marco Antonio Villeda, a letter that exposes since May 7 of this year the deficiencies detected in the purchase of food for the agents of the National Civil Police (PNC).
The detail from the CGC states that last year the Q291 million that Mingob spent on feeding agents did not cover 100% of those in uniform, since that expense was exclusive to the department of Guatemala.
“It was determined that these resources are destined exclusively to the police stations of the department of Guatemala, which have dining room infrastructure, excluding the agents assigned to the remaining 21 departments,” points out the note.
But the exclusion for agents who are not from the central department continued during the first months of the year, since until April 30, another expense was reported under the same modality for Q70 million 866 thousand 739.72.
“This persistence shows that the deficiency in the distribution of the benefit has not been corrected, it has not been applied correctly, maintaining an inequality gap that affects the majority of the police force at the national level,” reaffirms the communication sent to the minister.
CGC recommends bonus
The auditors’ analysis shows that all of last year and much of 2026, the Mingob has failed to guarantee the rights of public servants who make up the ranks of the PNC.
Among them the principle of equality and non-discrimination; distributive justice and the common good; and the obligations of the State, which has maintained an inequality gap between city police and those in the interior.
The recommendation made by the CGC team to the ministerial office was that the second vice ministry of Security be instructed to coordinate with the administrative and financial areas, for the creation of a cash food voucher.
This is to “guarantee the universality of the benefit that is applied to the entire police force at the national level. This mechanism must replace or complement the current physical provision of food to guarantee total, equitable and decentralized coverage at the national level,” details the CGC.
The recommendation given by the CGC gave the Mingob authorities a period of 60 days to detail a schedule and the specific actions to be taken to correct the errors; actions that do not exclude the possible execution of administrative measures and legal actions such as complaints.
Mingob without shares?
For analyst César Vega, from Acción Ciudadana, it is not new that the Mingob is once again the subject of doubts for mismanagement of funds, since it is usually an institution that, historically, has been surrounded by cases of alleged corruption.
But despite the change in the Government administration, the two Ministers of the Interior appointed by President Bernardo Arévalo, at the discretion of Vega, have continued with the same administration and contracting scheme.
“Arévalo did not appoint Villeda so that the processes continue as they were. These companies have been hiring since before and Arévalo’s ministers continue to give them contracts, this has not changed,” criticized the analyst.
For him, the way in which the Mingob has applied the Contracting Law exposes that there are models of corruption embedded in the portfolio that is in charge of controlling the PNC.
“We can say with quite certainty that Mingob’s purchasing practices are questionable. What’s more, it shows that there are corruption processes, but it is not known to what level it reaches,” he points out.
For the expert, fractional purchases and contracts assigned to certain companies make the situations clear, “we cannot avoid saying that there is corruption.”
For Vega, the recommendation made by the CGC is correct, but he warns auditors not to let their guard down, since with this model there could also be measures that are far from legal.
“It eliminates the intermediary, certain companies, this can be seen as a positive recommendation, but you have to be careful about the process and the controls, how verifiable the police form against the disbursement will be. You always look for ways to turn things around,” he indicated.
Follow recommendation
On May 19, the Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda, announced the creation of a bonus for food for PNC agents, without detailing that the measure was a suggestion resulting from a CGC audit.
The information was disseminated on the social network X of the Ministry of the Interior, where the minister explained that this bonus will be retroactive to May 15 of this year.
“After a serious administrative and operational evaluation, the decision was made to permanently close the PNC canteens. A responsible decision, a technical decision, and above all, a decision aimed at strengthening the entire institution,” he indicated.
He explained that, after the closure of the dining rooms, a new measure was taken to guarantee food to the agents. “We are taking steps to create a bonus to replace the previous model, but now with a fundamental difference. This benefit will no longer reach a small group of the PNC, it will reach each agent,” said the minister.
Rodolfo Zelada, Mingob communicator, was asked for a position regarding the comments of the Citizen Action analyst, but up to this point no response has been obtained.
With transparency and responsibility we strengthen the institutional transformation to dignify all our staff of the @PNCdeGuatemala. ✍️🇬🇹#WeareComplying pic.twitter.com/nYKwPNTUlt
— MinGob (@mingobguate) May 19, 2026