The investigations into the takeover of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (Usac) resulted in the issuance of 27 arrest warrants. But the progress of the case, according to a source close to the case who prefers to keep his name confidential, another 60 suspects were located against whom it is being analyzed to request other arrest warrants.
To them are added five people – a presidential duo and three deputies of the Congress of the Republic – who were asked to withdraw from the pretrial, with this the number of suspects increases to 92 people.
“More arrest warrants, it would not be new to see an exaggerated amount. It will be up to the judge to see if, given the circumstances with the previous unions, where there have been spontaneous presentations, it is worth issuing more arrest warrants for a case that is absolutely inadmissible,” said the representative elected by Movimiento Semilla, Andrea Reyes, who also appears as a defense attorney in the case.
Due to the USAC takeover case, 12 people have been subject to criminal proceedings, while two more were found to have a lack of merit that the MP announced he would appeal. Three other people also decided to appear voluntarily before the tenth criminal judge, Víctor Cruz, who will have to resolve his legal situation.
They will know pretrials
Among the five people identified in the case who enjoy immunity, the president, Bernardo Arévalo, and the vice president, Karin Herrera, stand out, as well as the independent legislators, elected by the Semilla Movement, Raúl Barreda, Román Castellanos and Samuel Pérez.
Recently, the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) rejected some challenges that the defense of the duo and the deputies presented and cleared the legal path for the preliminary proceedings to be heard by the Plenary Court.
For lawyer Reyes, it was necessary to remove Judge Carlos Rivera, since he has issued comments on social networks against the current government authorities. Therefore, they doubt his objectivity at the time of hearing the pretrial requests.
“What we would have would be perhaps to protect ourselves because we did consider that the recusal was necessary. This magistrate has expressed a negative opinion over time in relation to the government and, therefore, we believe that he will be biased”, the possible legal action would have to be brought before the Constitutional Court (CC), but It is still under analysis.
During the presentation of the case, pre-trial requests were also presented against the then deputy Aldo Dávila and Adán Pérez, who did not obtain re-election, so the MP could include them among the possible new arrest warrants.
Damage of Q90 million
The Usac remained taken over by a group of students and teachers who reject the election of Walter Mazariegos, as rector of the university center. But during the takeover, the MP’s thesis points out that there was a series of damages to its infrastructure.
The charges that coincide among the majority of the people identified by the investigation, highlight the crime against cultural heritage. According to evaluations by the investigating entity, the damage suffered by the university campus amounts to Q90 million.
To Congress
The damages that the university center could have received, in the opinion of Attorney Reyes, could have been the responsibility of the current administration of the University. Due to the above, Congress is analyzing whether to summon or invite university authorities to delve deeper into the case.
“We are evaluating as the Semilla Movement bench whether the person who committed the crime of damage to cultural heritage was actually the rector, Walter Mazariegos.”
Movimiento Semilla does not have the category of bench, so it cannot make any type of summons. For this reason, Reyes indicates that they are analyzing having the support of allied groups so that, through them, the summonses can be made.
“Because we analyzed that he (Walter Mazariegos and his administration) could have damaged several murals by painting them white, murals of a historical nature. We believe that this can constitute a crime,” he concluded.
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