Guatemala: President-Elect Bernardo Arevalo's Seed Movement Party Suspended; US Sanctions Guatemalan Officials

The election meddling saga in Guatemala is still not over as electoral authorities once again suspended President-elect Bernardo Arevalo's party, the Seed Movement. The suspension came as the US government sanctioned several Guatemalan officials over meddling in the elections.

The suspension was made by the electoral body that regulates Guatemala's many political parties known as the Citizen Registry. This is the latest suspension that the Seed Movement has had since Arevalo qualified for the presidential runoff. The party was previously suspended back in July, shortly before Arevalo won second place in the first round of Guatemala's presidential elections.

A short time after Arevalo won the presidential runoff against establishment candidate Sandra Torres, the Seed Movement's suspension was temporarily lifted by a higher court, However, that lifting of the suspension only lasts until October 31. With the order expiring, the Citizen Registry said Thursday it executed the order.

The Citizen Registry's spokesperson, Luis Gerardo Ramirez, told the Associated Press that the Seed Movement "cannot hold assemblies or carry out administrative procedures" during the suspension.

Members of the Seed Movement decried this course of action from the government, with the leader of the party's lawmakers, Samuel Perez, saying, "The suspension is unprecedented, no criminal judge could suspend a party because it's illegal," adding, "The problem is that the judge's suspension isn't legal, it's political."

US State Department Sanctions Guatemala Officials Over Election Tampering

While many foreign observers are decrying the actions being done against President-elect Bernardo Arevalo and his party, the US has finally taken action and pulled the visas of around a dozen government officials and their family members.

According to The Hill, the US State Department announced that the US visas of "a dozen individuals, and their immediate family members" have been pulled in relation to the alleged election interference.

"The United States rejects the continued efforts to undermine Guatemala's peaceful transition of power to President-elect Arevalo, said State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.

The US State Department also condemned the seizing of ballot boxes from the country's Electoral Tribunal, with Miller adding, "Most recently, the Guatemalan Public Ministry seized electoral materials under the custody of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, called for the forced removal of peaceful protestors, pressed for the removal of the Minister of Governance who protected the right to peaceful protest, and sought to lift the immunity of a member of Congress who publicly expressed concern about these anti-democratic measures."

However, it was noted that the names of these sanctioned individuals were not released.

Guatemala President-Elect Bernardo Arevalo Slams Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega

As Arevalo is getting a lot of backing from the US, he also slammed one of the superpower's biggest opponents in the region, Nicaragua, which is being ruled by strongman Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, in what many call a conjugal dictatorship.

He called Ortega's rule a "pure and simple" dictatorship and slammed the couple's "policy of 'systematic repression' against the critical or opposing population."

"What we have seen in the Nicaraguan case is systematic repression; the violation of the human rights of the population that is demanding an electoral process; the elimination of institutions simply by design of the Presidency. That is, we are seeing the construction of a pure and hard dictatorship," said the Guatemala President-elect.

Nicaragua has been helping drive the migrant crisis, flying planes full of migrants from Haiti and other impoverished countries to help flood the US-Mexico border with migrants. These migrants also pass by Guatemala on their way to the border.

As for Ortega, his government has been slammed for stamping down on any form of criticism against him or his wife. Members of the media, the clergy, and opposition leaders are either arrested or forced to live in exile.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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