Guatemala’s president replaces attorney general after years-long struggle

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo on Tuesday appointed a new attorney general and head of the prosecutor’s office, putting an end to a fierce, years-long struggle between the anti-corruption progressive and former top prosecutor Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by 40 countries for obstructing anti-corruption efforts.

He appointed lawyer Gabriel Estuardo García Luna to the position, marking a win for the Guatemalan president who has often clashed with prosecutors he accuses of rotting Guatemala’s justice system and making politically motivated arrests.

Porras’ prosecutor’s office repeatedly tried and failed to block Arévalo from entering office, sparking international rebuke and a fierce struggle with the president.

In Guatemala, the attorney general holds an independent office that is not supposed to be allied to any given president, meaning that presidents can be effectively stuck with rivals as chief law enforcement officers. The office has been plagued by corruption allegations for years.

In a national address, Arévalo said he decided to entrust García Luna with the position starting May 17, when Porras’ term ends.

“The Public Ministry is getting a new authority who does not come to serve a president, the government of the day, or particular or spurious political interests,” Arévalo said.

García Luna takes over an institution that has faced strong national and international criticism over its direction during Porras’ controversial tenure. She has been accused of using the prosecutor’s office for attempts to criminalize former justice officials, journalists, political opponents and even Arévalo himself.

García Luna, 49, is an attorney and notary with 22 years of professional experience and doctoral-level legal studies.

Arévalo selected García Luna from a list of six candidates submitted by a nominating commission made up of the president of the Supreme Court, deans of law schools across the country and the national bar association. The commission reviewed at least 48 applications for the post.

Porras was criticized and sanctioned by countries around the world for allegedly obstructing corruption investigations and using her power to persecute political opponents.

Since Arévalo’s election last year, Porras has pursued the president’s Seed Movement party, alleging wrongdoing in how it gathered signatures to register as a political party. Her investigators raided the party offices, seized and opened ballot boxes and sought multiple times to have his immunity lifted.

Arévalo has said Porras is protecting powerful and corrupt interests in Guatemala who fear his promise to root out corruption.