The Second Chamber of the High Risk Court of Appeals definitively resolved an injunction presented by the Attorney General’s Office (PGN) and confirmed the sentence of former Minister of Communications José Luis Benito for the Chimaltenango Libramiento case.
The PGN wanted the former official to pay at least Q93 million to the State as dignified reparation, after accepting charges in December 2025, and not the Q350 thousand that Judge Abelina Cruz Toscano, of the High Risk Court D, ordered.
The togados definitively denied the protection presented by the Attorney General’s Office.
The resolution states: “… there is no grievance that deserves to be corrected through amparo; rather, a disagreement is evident with respect to the distribution of the amounts intended for dignified reparation… We, who make up the Constitutional Court, come to the conclusion that the present constitutional action for amparo becomes inadmissible and must be resolved: ‘This amparo is without place,’ filed by Elisa Maribel Hernández on behalf of the State of Guatemala.”
Judge Abelina Cruz ruled, at the time, that José Luis Benito had to pay Q350 thousand as dignified reparation, distributed as follows: Q250 thousand to the common fund of the National Mortgage Credit (CHN), Q50 thousand to a charity for children with cancer and Q50 thousand to a church located in zone 18 of the capital.
The former Minister of Communications benefited from the reduction of his sentence by accepting charges in the hearing in which he admitted the allegations made by the Public Ministry (MP). He was sentenced to five years in prison; However, due to the benefit of acceptance of charges, the sentence was reduced to two years and six months.
According to court records, Benito was in preventive detention for two years, five months and three days, so he would have to serve a sentence of 27 days in prison, which can be commuted by paying Q20 per day, as it is a commutable sentence.
Now, the PGN may appeal the resolution before the Constitutional Court, which would seek to modify the amount that Benito must pay as dignified reparation after pleading guilty through the procedure of acceptance of charges.
Second conviction
Benito had already received a sentence on November 14, 2024, when he was sentenced to nine years in prison by Judge Claudette Domínguez. However, for accepting charges, the sentence was reduced to four years and six months.
Before the dignified reparation hearing, Benito challenged the judge, arguing that she had biased the process against him. After the challenge was accepted, a High Risk Chamber transferred the case to Judge Abelina Cruz.
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