On Monday, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales challenged the ruling of the Constitutional Court (CC), the country’s highest court, over the entry of former Colombian judge Iván Velásquez, head of an Anti-corruption Mission of the Organization of the United Nations (UN).
Despite the fact that on Sunday night the CC ordered that he be allowed access, Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart told reporters that Velásquez will not set foot in national territory.
The Colombian is the head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an institution that, since it was established in 2007, has been key to revealing corruption cases in the country.
Along with the prosecution, the CICIG has requested twice lifting the President’s immunity to investigate him on suspicion of corruption in his 2015 campaign; the same year when it revealed a tax evasion structure in customs headed by former President Otto Pérez and former vice-president Roxana Baldetti, who are now in prison and waiting to face trial.
Morales, who once praised the work of CICIG and who had promised to campaign for it extension until 2021, announced this month that he will not ask the UN for a new extension of the CICIG mandate, which expires in 2019, and banned Velásquez presence in the country.
Guatemalan Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel told reporters that Morales instructed a diplomatic note to the UN Secretary General asking for a list of candidates to replace the Colombian jurist, as the only viable solution to solve the crisis,
Otherwise, he [the UN Secretary General] will be held responsible for any consequences.”
Degenhart added that Migration will only allow the entry of
a new commissioner who is elected through a harmonious process between the parties, the United Nations and the State of Guatemala.”
Morales’ offensive against Velásquez caused road blockades by indigenous organizations in the west of the country last week, as well as protests in the capital and other cities, called by university students and social organizations.
Different sectors have called for demonstrations in different parts of the country on Thursday, to demand the resignation of the president. Social, women’s and human rights organizations will also file a complaint against the Chief of State and other officials before the Prosecutor’s Office for disobeying the Court’s decision.