Guatemala: Costa Rica President Throws Support for President-Elect Bernardo Arevalo While US Sanctions Guatemalan Officials

The United States and Costa Rica are showing solidarity with Guatemala President-Elect Bernardo Arevalo after prosecutors threatened to annul his victory, which the Guatemalan Electoral Tribunal says cannot be done as Arevalo's win is final and cannot be reversed.

The Biden administration announced that it is sanctioning 300 Guatemalan lawmakers and other individuals who are undermining democracy by helping in the efforts to stop the president-elect from taking office. These sanctions include visa restrictions

The Associated Press noted that Bernardo Arevalo's shocking victory upended the political establishment as he and his Seen Movement party are seen as a threat to those who have long wielded power in Guatemala with his anti-corruption crusade.

This has resulted in him and his party being targeted for harassment by government officials and prosecutors as they have been subjected to arrests and raids. Prosecutors also repeatedly requested that his immunity be lifted and his victory be annulled.

The US State Department condemned the actions of prosecutors and lawmakers in the country, saying that these "ongoing anti-democratic actions" have the "intent to delegitimize Guatemala's free and fair elections and prevent the peaceful transition of power."

The names of those Guatemalan officials sanctioned by the US were not revealed, though the State Department did say that these individuals were "responsible for, or complicit" in the undermining of democracy in Guatemala, including the political targeting of opposition, intimidation of peaceful protestors, raids, opening of ballot boxes and lifting of immunity of electoral magistrates who certified the election.

Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chavez Meets With Guatemala President-Elect Bernardo Arevalo

As elements of the Guatemalan government are trying to stop him from taking office, Guatemala's President-elect Bernardo Arevalo recently met with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves. There, Chavez told his embattled counterpart that Arevalo has his and Costa Rica's full support.

The two met during a welcoming ceremony in San Jose. There, Arevalo personally invited the Costa Rican president to his inauguration, scheduled for January 14. Like the United States and Brazil, Costa Rica is recognizing Arevalo as the true winner of the elections last August and that efforts to derail his win are undemocratic.

International observers have noted that the Guatemalan elections were clean and that there was no massive fraud as prosecutors are claiming. Despite this, government officials have repeatedly raided the electoral tribunal and offices of the Seed Movement party in search of evidence they could use against Arevalo while also trying to get his immunity taken away.

Guatemala Supreme Electoral Tribunal Stomps Foot Down Over Bernardo Arevalo Win

As prosecutors have publicly stated that they want to annul Bernardo Arevalo's historic election victory, Guatemala's Supreme Electoral Tribunal has reiterated that the results of this year's presidential race are "unalterable."

The prosecutors, many of whom have been sanctioned by the US government over corruption, stated that their work is "impartial" and that they are not interfering with the election. However, Blanca Alfaro, the head of the Supreme Election Tribunal, blasted this with their own press conference.

"I would like to ratify, in my role as magistrate and in a personal capacity, that the results are valid, official, and unalterable," she reiterated. The Organization of American States (OAS) agreed and said that the prosecution's comments were akin to "an attempted coup d'etat."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Guatemala's president-elect Bernardo Arévalo leads march through Guatemala City - Associated Press