Central America
Amparo of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala annuls the suspension of Semilla’s legal status
July 15 |
The Constitutional Court of Guatemala informed Thursday that it granted a provisional protection to Movimiento Semilla, which was requested by the party after the Seventh Court of Criminal Instance ordered the suspension of its legal status.
In a statement published in social networks, the Court explained that the protection opens the way for “the second electoral round (presidential) to take place on the indicated date and with the participation of the officialized candidates”.
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Earlier, Bernardo Arévalo, presidential candidate of Semilla, said that the injunction had been filed “in defense of democracy, institutionality and constitutionality”.
Sandra Torres, presidential candidate in Guatemala, will suspend her campaign in solidarity with the Seed Movement: We don’t want to take advantage of it.
On the other hand, the director of the Registry of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, José Ramiro Muñoz, made known that they filed a constitutional action of amparo against the decision of the Seventh Court to suspend the legal status of Semilla, alleging that only the Tribunal can take this type of legal action.
“(It is the) only entity in constitutional material, as the law states, to be able, suspend or cancel any political organization. That is why we have filed this constitutional action of amparo”, he said this Thursday in a press conference.
On Wednesday night, the head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity, Rafael Curruchiche, informed about this suspension against Semilla for the alleged falsification of citizens’ signatures for the party’s authorization process; the party rejected the accusation.
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The decision unleashed several reactions, including the suspension of the electoral campaign of Sandra Torres, candidate of Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE), who would compete with Arévalo in the August 20 runoff.
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office is respectful of the resolutions of the Constitutional Court. However, as stated in the resolution, the same is “without prejudice to the powers of criminal prosecution that fall under the jurisdiction of the Public Ministry and regulated in Articles 251 of the Constitution of the Republic and 251 of the Electoral Law and Political Parties,” the Prosecutor’s Office told CNN about this decision of the Court.
Central America
Arévalo accuses Porras and judge of undermining democracy in Guatemala
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo denounced a new attempt at a “coup” orchestrated by the Attorney General’s Office. He also requested an extraordinary session at the Organization of American States (OAS) to address the country’s ongoing political crisis.
The president has been at odds with Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for being “corrupt” and “anti-democratic.” Since 2023, Arévalo has accused Porras of launching investigations against his party, Semilla, and the 2023 elections as part of a scheme to prevent his inauguration in January 2024.
From the presidential office, Arévalo has said he continues to “resist” the “coup plotters,” but tensions escalated last Friday when Judge Fredy Orellana, at the request of the Attorney General’s Office, ordered the electoral court to annul the Semilla party’s promoter group. Arévalo interpreted this as an attempt to revoke the positions won by the party.
“Orellana, a hitman who distorts the law in service of Consuelo Porras, is attempting to force […] the unconstitutional removal of a mayor, 23 elected deputies […], the vice president, and the president of the country,” Arévalo said in a televised address on Sunday.
“We call on the international community not to turn a blind eye to the coup being attempted in Guatemala,” he added, speaking alongside his cabinet and congressional members at the National Palace in Guatemala City.
Arévalo requested that the Organization of American States hold an extraordinary session to present “the serious threats” to the Guatemalan Constitution and democracy perpetrated by Porras and Orellana.
Yesterday, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez reaffirmed the president’s statements, emphasizing the need “to go and expose the situation” Guatemala has been facing since last week due to the actions of the Attorney General’s Office.
Central America
New dismembered bodies found in San Juan river days after mass killing in Palencia
On the morning of Monday, October 27, Guatemala’s Volunteer Firefighters confirmed the discovery of two bodies and two human heads inside plastic bags in the San Juan River, located in the Zacualpía village at kilometer 21 of the Atlantic Highway, in the jurisdiction of Palencia.
The remains were found by personnel from Companies 85, 50, and Central, who responded after receiving a report about suspicious bags floating in the water. The gruesome discovery was made just a few meters from the site where eight tortured bodies were found under the San Juan Bridge on Friday, October 24.
Local authorities do not rule out a connection between both incidents and suspect they may be tied to the same criminal organization. Investigators from the Public Ministry and the National Civil Police arrived at the scene to gather evidence and transfer the remains to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif).
According to data from the National Economic Research Center (CIEN), Guatemala recorded 2,154 homicides between January and August 2025, an increase compared to the 1,816 reported during the same period in 2024.
Central America
Four guatemalan soldiers arrested for stealing weapons from Northern Air Command
Four soldiers were arrested in connection with the theft of weapons from the Northern Air Command of the Ministry of Defense in Petén, Guatemala, following operations conducted by the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office).
“During the operations, criminal scenes were processed, analyzed, and documented photographically, possible escape routes were identified, surveillance cameras were located, and potential witnesses were interviewed,” the Prosecutor’s Office explained in a social media post.
The detained soldiers were identified as Ludwin Jónathan Cardona Baltazar, charged with illicit association, dereliction of duty, and aggravated theft; and Josué Israel Pérez Jerónimo, Alain Omar Marroquín Soch, and Carlos Ernesto Ibarra Corrales, charged with dereliction of duty, according to Guatemala’s Prensa Libre.
The military personnel reportedly stole 55 rifles, 14,420 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition, 92 magazines of 35 rounds each, 19 magazines of 20 rounds each, and three grenade launchers, “which were allegedly moved from the arms warehouse to the outside for illicit sale.”
The Ministry of Defense stated that it will keep its internal control mechanisms active to prevent similar incidents.
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