U.S. Halts Cooperation with Guatemala Authorities After Anti-Corruption Leader Juan Francisco Sandoval Removed

The United States has announced that it will suspend its cooperation with Guatemala's criminal prosecutor after the head of the unit in charge of fighting corruption in the country was sacked last week.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter announced the decision on Tuesday, July 27, Aljazeera reported. She said the U.S. was halting programmatic cooperation with Guatemala's Public Ministry responsible for the prosecution of criminal cases.

Last July 23, Guatemala's Attorney General Maria Porras had removed the anti-corruption leader Juan Francisco Sandoval from his position as head of the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity (FECI). Sandoval fled the country and went to El Salvador just hours after he was sacked.

Juan Francisco Sandoval's Removal

Porras had accused Juan Francisco Sandoval of "abuses" without specifying what those abuses are. Sandoval claimed that he was fired due to his corruption investigations on the government's top officials, Associated Press reported.

The former head of FECI noted that he had fled the country for his own safety. He was the fifth law enforcement official in three years to do so.

Juan Francisco Sandoval noted that his situation had become the situation of many public servants in Guatemala for not being useful for the regime. Sandoval was with human rights activists and journalists when he left the country.

Swedish Ambassador Hans Magnusson also came with Sandoval when he arrived at El Salvador's border town, La Chinamasa.

U.S. Acting assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Julie Chung, said that Sandoval's removal from his post is a "step backward for the rule of law."

The former head of the U.N. anti-corruption commission, Ivan Velasquez, was also expelled from the country in 2019 by former president Jimmy Morales.

Velasquez noted that Sandoval's removal is an illegal, arbitrary, and criminal act. He called the international community to protect Sandoval immediately.

Sandoval had earned the reputation of chasing dozens of criminal networks as an anti-corruption prosecutor in Guatemala.

One of the most notable efforts in his career was when he exposed former President Otto Perez Molina and some of his cabinet members.

Molina and some of his cabinet members were charged with corruption with the help of the former United Nations anti-corruption mission in Guatemala.

U.S. Withdrawing Cooperation

Porter said that Porras' move to fire Juan Francisco Sandoval shows a lack of commitment to the rule of law and independent judicial and prosecutorial processes.

She noted that as a result, they had lost confidence in the attorney general and her intention to cooperate with the U.S. government and fight corruption in good faith, Los Angeles Times reported.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris had highlighted the importance of the country's anti-corruption efforts when she spoke with President Alejandro Giammattei during her trip to Guatemala last month.

Kamala Harris said that corruption is one of the key factors that prompted many citizens to come to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Porras had reassigned another prosecutor from Sandoval's office a day before the former head was fired. Sandoval has cited some incidents that Porras had repeatedly worked to block his investigations. He added that most of those works were in close proximity to Guatemala's president.

Juan Francisco Sandoval had supported the U.S.' decision, saying that it was consistent with the country's policy of respecting the culture of law.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

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