Guatemala

Guatemalan president declares UN representative “persona non-grata”

Presidentes: Jimmy Morales de Guatemala.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales declared Iván Velásquez, the head of the UN-sponsored CICIG (International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala) a “persona non grata” and ordered him to immediately leave the country.

The decision represents a breach of the Guatemalan government’s commitment to the United Nations against impunity and undermines the ability of the CICIG and the country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office to conduct investigations and file criminal charges.

In a statement, more than 80 organizations, among them Conectas, informed that the decision came two days after the CICIG and the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor’s Office requested permission from Congress to investigate Morales for illegal campaign financing.

• Read the statement in full (in Spanish)