SAN SALVADOR – The Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States, Brian Nichols, said he was concerned after the Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office announced two arrest warrants against the former president of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), David Gaitán, and former prosecutor Thelma Aldana; in addition to legal actions against the former Cicig commissionerIvan Velasquez.
In a message On his Twitter account, the US official said: “We are concerned about the arrest warrants issued by the Guatemalan Public Ministry against people who worked to ensure accountability for corruption in the Odebrecht case in Guatemala. Such actions weaken the rule of law and confidence in the Guatemalan justice system”.
The Prosecutor’s Office of that country did not take long to respond to the Undersecretary of State, assuring him that “the Public Ministry is an independent and autonomous institution” and that “trying to influence its investigative work… weakens the rule of law.”
Also, through a releasethe Guatemalan institution “urged” the national and international community to “be respectful of the rule of law, democracy and the principle of legality,” and recalled that “no actor can interfere in the investigative work of the institution.”
The investigations
On January 16, the Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office announced an investigation against Velásquezcurrent Colombian Defense Minister, for a case of alleged corruption linked to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
Likewise, the institution is investigating the lawyer Luz Camargo Garzón, who worked as an investigator of corruption structures in Guatemala.
According to the prosecutor in charge, Rafael Curruchiche, the former Cicig commissioner endorsed illegal agreements with two directors of the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, and after allegedly appearing in emails together with the directors, Curruchiche assures that “they had full knowledge of the dark and corrupt negotiations that were taking place with the Odebrecht company”.
Given the facts, Velásquez issued a release in which he assured that he has not been notified of “any requirement” by the Guatemalan authorities. Likewise, he said that his work at the head of Cicig was “transparent and within the legal framework that protected the operation of the Commission.”
Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche He was sanctioned in the middle of last year by the United States government, which accuses him of “obstructing investigations into acts of corruption” and “presenting apparently spurious complaints.”
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