GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemalan authorities on Wednesday arrested an Indigenous chief of nationwide protests in 2023 that sought to make sure then President-elect Bernardo Arévalo’s transition to energy whereas additionally demanding the resignation of the nation’s lawyer common.
The Lawyer Common’s Workplace accuses Luis Pacheco, now serving in Arévalo’s authorities, of terrorism and illicit affiliation, in keeping with an official who requested anonymity to discuss a case {that a} decide has declared below reserve.
In October 2023, Pacheco led an alliance of 48 Indigenous communities in peaceable protests that shut down highways throughout Guatemala for 3 weeks.
Regardless of Arévalo’s resounding victory that August, the Lawyer Common’s Workplace continued to research the election and members of his celebration, accusing them amongst different issues of improperly gathering signatures required for the celebration to kind.
Lawyer Common Consuelo Porras has been the main target of a lot of that ire as she has refused to step down or halt her investigations into Arévalo’s celebration. The U.S. authorities has sanctioned her for allegedly impeding corruption investigations.
Arévalo mentioned later Wednesday that the arrest was unfounded and “spurious” and “criminalizes ideas and rights which are assured.”
Lawyer Francisco Vivar mentioned that federal brokers had denied them entry to the house the place Pacheco was arrested and so they had not seen him since his arrest.
Pacheco, a member of the Ok’iche’ folks, mentioned on the time that the galvanizing second for the group he represented was a raid on electoral workplaces broadcast reside during which federal brokers opened and took away — regardless of resistance from some electoral officers — bins containing precinct vote tally sheets. “The folks already voted and it’s important to respect the choice taken,” he mentioned then.
After Arévalo took energy, Pacheco was appointed as a deputy minister for sustainable improvement within the Power and Mines Ministry.
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