The President of the Republic, Bernardo Arévalo, through the Ministry of Culture and Sports, ordered to manage the repatriation of the remains of Nobel Prize winner Miguel Ángel Asturiasfrom France to Guatemala, as well as its deposit at the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center.
Through Government Agreement 104-2026, dated June 23, 2026, but published this Tuesday, June 24 in the Diario de Centro América, the portfolio issued these provisions.
“In order to commemorate the life and work of the Guatemalan writer Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales, and at the request of his family, it is appropriate manage the repatriation of your remains fatalities from the French Republic to the Republic of Guatemala and its deposit in the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center, a department of the Ministry of Culture and Sports,” the document reads.
The agreement adds specific instructions for each wallet involved. In the case of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is indicated that, through the representation of Guatemala accredited in France, it must carry out the necessary procedures before the competent authorities. for the repatriation process.
Likewise, the Ministry of Culture and Sportsthrough the corresponding departments, must manage the deposit of the mortal remains of the Nobel Prize winner in Literature in the facilities of the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center.
“This Government Agreement comes into force the day after its publication in the Diario de Centro América,” he concludes.
In June 2024 it was known that the remains of Miguel Ángel Asturias They would return to Guatemala five decades after having died in Europeafter remaining in the Père-Lachaise cemetery, in Paris, France.
“Investigating his poetry, my father expressed his desire to be buried in Guatemala“, said on that occasion Asturias’ youngest son, Miguel Ángel Amado Asturias.
On June 9, 2026, the Minister of Culture and Sports, Luis Méndez Salinas, reported that the burial of the remains of Miguel Ángel Asturias was scheduled for October 19after completing the procedures for his repatriation from France.