Central America

Guatemalan anti-graft judge quits over ‘pressure and threats’

AFP

Guatemalan anti-corruption judge Erika Aifan said on Monday she had resigned out of fear for her life following “pressure and threats.”

Local media said Aifan had fled to the United States.

“I have decided to present my resignation because I cannot count on sufficient protection for my life,” Aifan said in a video shared on Twitter.

“I’ve seen huge criminal organizations and corruption structures at every level of the State from where I have faced the largest amount of pressure and threats against my independence and integrity,” said Aifan.

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The former judge was one of the recipients of the US State Department’s International Women of Courage award last year.

Since 2019, Aifan had benefited from precautionary protection measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights due to the harassment and threats against her.

But she said she no longer had faith that she would be safe.

Her resignation comes after five anti-corruption judges were arrested in recent weeks and accused of abuse of authority and obstruction of justice.

Aifan was herself facing a bid to strip her of the legal immunity she enjoyed as a judge.

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The arrests of other anti-corruption judges were ordered by the Public Ministry, headed by Consuelo Porras, who is included on a US list of “corrupt actors.”

Four of the arrested judges were members of the country’s Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) while the fifth was from the now defunct UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).

“The political and criminal networks that are affected by advances in the judiciary have decided once again to coopt the institutions and persecute those of us who dared to fight against impunity,” said Aifan.

Central America

Guatemala seizes over a ton of cocaine hidden in flour at Pacific port

Guatemalan security forces seized more than one metric ton of cocaine on Sunday after discovering the drug hidden inside containers filled with flour at a Pacific port, police said.

The cocaine was found inside two shipping containers at Puerto Quetzal, located about 85 kilometers south of Guatemala City in the southern department of Escuintla, according to a police statement.

Authorities reported that 1,039 rectangular packages of cocaine were concealed inside bags of flour, with a total weight of 1,240 kilograms. No arrests were reported in connection with the operation.

Police said the shipment’s country of origin was not disclosed, and the seized drugs were airlifted to secure storage facilities in the capital for safekeeping.

International drug cartels frequently use Central America as a transit route for cocaine shipments bound for the United States, the world’s largest consumer of the drug.

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Central America

Guatemala’s president rules out negotiations with inmates after prison riots

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo stressed that his administration will not negotiate with inmates nor restore concessions granted under previous governments, insisting that the Executive’s priority is to maintain control of the prison system and restore order in detention centers.

Arévalo said one of the key measures implemented by authorities was the blocking of mobile phone signals inside prisons, an action he described as decisive in regaining control of the Renovación 1 penitentiary.

The riots reported at Renovación 1, Fraijanes 2, and the Preventive Detention Center for Men in Zone 18 of Guatemala City were aimed at pressuring the state to recover privileges that had been recently revoked, Arévalo said during a press conference held Wednesday at the National Palace of Culture.

The president explained that inmates were seeking to reinstate special detention conditions, including air conditioning, king-size beds, and internet access, benefits that he said were eliminated by the current administration.

“They attempted to extort the state in order to return to that system of privileges, but they failed,” Arévalo emphasized.

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Central America

Mazatenango Carnival cancelled amid State of Siege in Guatemala

The municipal government of Mazatenango, in the department of Suchitepéquez, Guatemala, has cancelled the city’s traditional Carnival as a security measure aimed at protecting visitors and residents.

The decision was announced on Tuesday through the municipality’s official Facebook page and comes as a preventive action amid the state of siege declared by the national government last Sunday.

The Mazatenango Carnival, one of the country’s most emblematic festivities, boasts more than 140 years of traditionand typically draws large crowds from across Guatemala and neighboring regions. Its program usually includes parades of floats, the traditional “Rabbit Race,” street dancing and live music, concerts, and cultural events in the Central Plaza.

According to the official statement, the cancellation responds to the current security context and the restrictions associated with the state of siege, prioritizing public safety.

Municipal authorities clarified that the scheduled concert by La Arrolladora Banda El Limón will still take place separately and will be the sole responsibility of the private production company, independent of the cancelled carnival activities.