Who is Consuelo Porras, the controversial attorney general of Guatemala whom the US points out as being a "corrupt actor"

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image source, Alejandro Giammattei / Twitter

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The attorney general and the president of Guatemala during their new appointment on Monday.

It was one of the most anticipated political decisions both outside and inside Guatemala: the government had to announce who would be the person who would occupy the position of attorney general for the next four years, one of the most important -and one of the most controversial- in the country in recent times.

Finally, there was no surprise.

President Alejandro Giammattei announced on Monday that the current incumbent will continue for another cycle at the head of the office that must lead the fight against corruption at the national level.

“I have made the decision to appoint the current attorney general, María Consuelo Porras Argueta, to hold the position of attorney general and head of the Public Ministry for the next four years,” the president said in an official ceremony.

Giammattei affirmed that the selection of Porras was not “a simple decision taken lightly” and assured that the woman meets all the requirements to continue in the position.

In a rare twist in the appointment of an attorney general, the president ruled out “media or political accusations that may exist” against Porras.

He said: “according to our Constitution (…) they have no value to deprive a person of his capacity, suitability and honesty.”

And it is that since she took office in 2018, the attorney general has been the object of numerous criticisms both within Guatemala and in the international community, from those who have accused her of protecting corrupt politicians, blocking judicial investigations and colluding with the president and your closest circle.

Both the Guatemalan government and the prosecutor have systematically denied the accusations against them and claim that they are media campaigns with political bias.

Upon taking office again on Monday, Porras assured that he will continue his work “without bias or ideology” and described the accusations against him as “constant attacks by some people who seek partial justice.”

“I have never taken a step back and I will never take it because I believe and trust in the Law and I will never tolerate arbitrary actions that undermine the rights of Guatemalan citizens,” he said.

reactions

Porras’s candidacy to continue in office had sparked protests in recent months in Guatemala and, after the announcement of his appointment on Monday, various organizations and users on social media made comments against him.

The Association of Journalists considered that the decision “will lead to greater restrictions on freedom of expression, violations of human rights, and criminalization of journalists,” while the National Business Council of Guatemala said that his re-election “is not good news for the climate of investment of the country, nor for the necessary stability and the rule of law”.

The voices of questioning were heard beyond Guatemala.

After learning of the designation, the United States government decided to sanction the prosecutor again, whom it had already designated last September as “corrupt actor“.

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced the new sanctions on Twitter after considering that Porras’ actions “undermine democracy” in the Central American country.

“During his tenure, Porras repeatedly obstructed and undermined anti-corruption investigations in Guatemala to protect his political allies and gain undue political favors,” the State Department said in a statement.

The United States, which saw Guatemala as its great ally in the Northern Triangle of Central America, has notably cooled its relations with the country and has become a frequent critic of Porras’ actions.

The attorney general, for her part, has signaled to the United States that she wants to intervene in internal affairs and in the way in which justice is administered in Guatemala.

The Public Ministry responded this Tuesday on Twitter to the sanctions and assured that it is a autonomous institution that “does not accept any kind of interference or pressure”and that “it will continue to work objectively and impartially, ensuring strict compliance with the law.”

Giammattei, for his part, announced on Tuesday that not attendá to the Summit of the Americas in response to US criticism. for the appointment of the attorney general.

Earlier on Monday, the president had said that with the ratification of Porras in office, his government seeks to “strengthen the independence and autonomy” of the Public Ministry “so that the institution is never used again by nationals or foreigners who seek to impose a political agenda or ideological through selective criminal prosecution”.

A prosecutor involved in controversy

Born in 1953 in San Juan Comalapa, in the center of Guatemala, Porras studied Legal Sciences and worked as a member of the Court of Appeals and as a substitute magistrate of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala, although she had no experience in high-level criminal investigations. impact before being appointed to the Public Ministry.

Short in stature, he is characterized by wearing his hair up, a scarf around his neck and a rosary in the form of a bracelet tied to his hand, a symbol of his religious faith.

Those who have known her say that she generally speaks using legal jargon.

Among the achievements of her management, the prosecutor herself has highlighted the more than 60 people accused of drug trafficking who were extradited to the United States, as well as the almost two million cases resolved during her mandate.

However, his critics say that most were simply closed without resolution.

She was initially appointed to the Public Ministry in May 2018 by then President Jimmy Morales, replacing Thelma Aldanathe attorney general who led the most important battle against corruption in Guatemala to date.

Morales, at that time, had begun to dismantle the existing organizations against impunity in the country, among them the International Commission against Corruption in Guatemala (CICIG), a mission backed by the United Nations that operated for 12 years and that managed to dismantle numerous criminal networks.

The then president announced in 2019 the departure of the CICIG from the country, shortly after Porras became attorney general.

One of her first steps in that position was going against her predecessor.

Aldana tried to present himself as a candidate for the presidency, but the Public Ministry, already led by Porras, accused her of “misappropriation of funds” and issued an arrest warrant against her, for which the renowned former prosecutor had to go into exile in the United States.

For human rights organizations, it was then that a “persecution” began from the Public Ministry against judges, prosecutors and lawyers who worked on issues related to corruption.

Guatemalan media then reported that Porras began to have friction with the Special Prosecutor Against Impunity (FECI) and ended up firing the person in charge of that office, John Francis Sandovalwho also had to take refuge in the United States.

In an interview with BBC Mundo last year, Sandoval assured that one of the reasons behind his dismissal was that he was investigating the government of President Alejandro Giammattei.

“In that process of collecting information, it was and I understand that this was one of the main fears or concerns of the President of the Republic and the Attorney General,” he said.

After Sandoval’s dismissal, the United States government assured that acts of this type contributed to “the perception that there is a systematic effort in Guatemala to weaken those who fight against corruption.”

On Monday, during the report on his first four years, Porras maintained that a priority of his management during that time “has been the fight against corruption”.

He also assured that under his management the Public Ministry became more independent.

“I can state with great satisfaction that we have consolidated the Public Ministry as an eminently technical and legal institution without any type of bias or political ideology,” he said.

Other controversies

Numerous organizations and governments have also indicated to the prosecutor to seek to intervene or block judicial processes.

“Porras’ pattern of obstruction includes ordering prosecutors in the Guatemalan Public Ministry to ignore cases for political considerations and firing prosecutors who investigate cases related to acts of corruption,” the US State Department said.

As far as the Public Ministry is concerned, about 20 prosecutors, judges and magistrates have gone into exile after denouncing reprisals for their work in corruption cases, according to data from human rights organizations.

Six other jurists have been imprisoned, including former members of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity and the CICIG.

One of the last to go into exile last year was the renowned judge Erika Aifán Dávila, who assured after leaving the country that she was carrying out an investigation against the current president.

Washington and other governments and international institutions have suspended their collaboration and economic support to the Public Ministry of Guatemala after the inauguration of Porras.

Last March, the United Nations Organization expressed concern about the “judicial persecution” to which, in the international organization’s opinion, “prosecutors and judges linked to the fight against impunity in Guatemala” were being subjected.

Questioning of the prosecutor has also come from the Catholic Church of Guatemala and numerous civil society groups, indigenous communities and students.

In 2021, a video went viral in which, during a virtual class, a group of university students rebuked her for her management and called her “corrupt”, which generated a scandal that led Porras to stop teaching.

Global human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have also questioned the work of the jurist in front of the Public Ministry.

“Consuelo Porras’ mandate as attorney general has been a disgrace to the rule of law in Guatemala,” Tamara Taraciuk Broner, HRW’s acting director for the Americas, recently said.