Ana María Méndez Dardón recently wrote in Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) about the challenges facing the rule of law in Guatemala as it seeks to select a new Attorney General and how Washington may, or may not, engage.
Guatemala once again faces a pivotal opportunity to restore democratic institutions and rebuild the rule of law by selecting a new Attorney General. The renewal of leadership at the Public Ministry comes after a deeply damaging period under Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States, the EU, and other countries for corruption and undermining democracy. During her tenure, high-impact investigations into corruption and organized crime were dismantled, impunity expanded, and justice operators–including judges, prosecutors, journalists, and Indigenous leaders–were systematically targeted and criminalized, with many forced into exile.
For Washington, this moment also presents a strategic opening. A credible and independent Attorney General could enable the United States to reestablish robust technical and financial cooperation with Guatemala on shared priorities such as combating organized crime, narcotrafficking, and corruption, issues that directly affect regional stability and U.S. national interests.
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The election process will determine whether Guatemala moves toward accountability or remains captured by entrenched interests that depend on impunity. For decades, sectors of the private sector and political elite have invested in influence efforts abroad to protect themselves, including campaigns that helped weaken international support for the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) when its investigations began to expose high-level corruption. Those same networks have not disappeared; they’ve evolved.
You can read the full piece, with links, here, Guatemala’s Attorney General Selection: A Critical Test for the Rule of Law and U.S. Engagement.
Categories: Corruption, Guatemala, Human Rights, Impunity, Justice, Solidarity in Action
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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