For “undermining democracy,” the US announces the withdrawal of visas for more than 300 people in Guatemala

2023-12-11 23:03:05

In a statement and without specifying names, the United States Department of State announced this Monday that they have taken measures to impose visa restrictions on almost 300 Guatemalan citizens, including more than 100 members of the Congress of the Republic, as well as representatives of the private sector and their family members for undermining democracy and the rule of law. The United States will continue to take steps to impose such restrictions on anyone who undermines Guatemala’s democracy.

Perspective Writing

In a statement, they noted that the United States supports those who seek to safeguard democracy and the rule of law in Guatemala and guarantee that the will of the Guatemalan people is respected. In addition, they reiterated that that nation “strongly condemns the current undemocratic actions of the Public Ministry of Guatemala and other actors that undermine the rule of law in Guatemala.”

In this context, they referred to the fact that the Public Ministry’s announcement of arrest warrants against electoral workers and party representatives, its request to withdraw the immunity of President-elect Arévalo and its attempts to annul the electoral results constitute evidence of its clear intention to delegitimize Guatemala’s elections and prevent the peaceful transition of power.

IN CONTEXT:

This after the investigative entity presented a case pointing out alleged Illegalities committed by the TSE in the 2023 electoral process, this was presented by Leonor Morales, Fiscal Agent of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI). While the presiding magistrate of the Electoral Court, Blanca Alfaro, the results of the election are unalterable and if the elected president Bernardo Arévalo does not take office, a constitutional break would be taking place.

“These actions are clearly inconsistent with the Inter-American Democratic Charter,” emphasizes the State Department.

Other actions questioned by the US are the lifting of the immunity of judges of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), political attacks against members of the opposition, intimidation of peaceful protesters, raids on storage facilities that house records of electoral results and the opening of electoral boxes.

It is worth remembering that, with 108 votes, the Congress of the Republic, following a motion presented by Deputy Alberto Sánchez, approved putting to a vote the withdrawal of the pretrial proceedings against the judges of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Irma Palencia, Gabriel Aguilera, Rafael Rojas and Mynor Franco, who requested a license from the TSE and left the country.

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“Today’s actions reinforce previous measures by the United States government to promote accountability for corrupt and undemocratic actors in Guatemala and support the will of the Guatemalan people. The Guatemalan people have spoken. “Their voices must be respected,” reads the communication from the US Government.