Dr. María Consuelo Porras Argueta, Attorney General of the Republic and Head of the Public Ministry presented the First Annual Work Report for 2022-2023 in an official ceremony at the Efraín Recinos Great Hall of the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center.
The activity included the participation of the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Dr. Alejandro Giammattei Falla; the serving President of the Judiciary and Supreme Court of Justice, Magistrate Nery Medina Méndez; the President of the Constitutional Court, Magistrate Héctor Hugo Pérez Aguilera; the First Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala, Boris Roberto España and the Secretary General of the Public Ministry, Angel Pineda.
Representatives of the country’s Executive, Legislative, Judicial, and diplomatic sectors also participated in the event.
Staff from the different national prosecutor’s offices participated virtually, including the Attorney General of the Republic of El Salvador, Rodolfo Antonio Delgado Montes, the Attorney General of the Republic of Panama, Javier Enrique Caraballo Salazar, and the Head of International Affairs of the Colombian Attorney General’s Office.
Dr. María Consuelo Porras Argueta is the first Attorney General to be appointed for a second term and the first female Attorney General to be reelected in Latin America.
The actions carried out during the first year of her second term as the head of the institution, from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, are part of the Institutional Strategic Plan 2022-2026, designed to follow up and reinforce the measures already taken during her first term.
The Institutional Strategic Plan 2022-2026 includes ten axes with their respective specific goals, lines of action, and strategic activities to strengthen previous work, to continue improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Public Ministry to provide a timely, prompt, and reliable response to the population in the face of criminal phenomena and their demand for justice.
Dr. María Consuelo Porras Argueta is the first Attorney General to be appointed for a second term and the first female Attorney General to be reelected in Latin America.
The actions carried out during the first year of her second term as the head of the institution, from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, are part of the Institutional Strategic Plan 2022-2026, designed to follow up and reinforce the measures already taken during her first term.
The Institutional Strategic Plan 2022-2026 includes ten axes with their respective specific goals, lines of action, and strategic activities to strengthen previous work, to continue improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Public Ministry to provide a timely, prompt, and reliable response to the population in the face of criminal phenomena and their demand for justice.
The report shows the progress accomplished during the first year of work. It is divided into five chapters, seeking to reflect the complete work performed in all the areas of the institution.
The Secretary-General, Angel Pineda, highlighted that the results of the work carried out during the first term in office of Dr. Porras Argueta were overwhelming, achieving 95% of the actions set out in the Strategic Plan of the Public Ministry for the five years 2018-2023. This translates into reaching historical milestones such as institutional coverage across the country, reducing tax arrears, and creating specialized models of attention to vulnerable groups. Overall, this indicates a comprehensive strengthening of the institution, promoting through tangible and irrefutable actions a real fight against impunity and better access to justice for Guatemala, in compliance with the principle of legality.
He also emphasized Dr. Porras’ tireless commitment and professionalism, which has driven her to continue innovating and strengthening the Public Ministry.
The Attorney General stated that the report 2022-2023 is a democratic exercise of accountability and compliance with the requirements of the Political Constitution of the Republic.
She mentioned her daily effort to ensure a culture of legality and respect through Public Ministry strengthening, achieving objective, impartial, and non-biased work.
Likewise, she ensures rigorous investigations, upholding human rights and due process, and focusing on law compliance. Therefore, any person found responsible must face the consequences, whomever they may be.
Dr. Porras Argueta reaffirmed the unwavering commitment to guarantee objective and non-selective justice since the law is for everyone, with no exceptions.
She added that having succeeded in shifting the Public Ministry from politicization and instrumentalization to the consolidation of the Constitutional Rule of Law, which implies law enforcement for all, has entailed many challenges, but also many satisfactions.
Finally, she stated, “We are leaving to the Guatemalan citizens a significant and relevant access to justice that was achieved through the different actions we have demonstrated.”
Dr. María Consuelo Porras Argueta is the first Attorney General to be appointed for a second term and the first female Attorney General to be reelected in Latin America.
The actions carried out during the first year of her second term as the head of the institution, from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, are part of the Institutional Strategic Plan 2022-2026, designed to follow up and reinforce the measures already taken during her first term.
The Institutional Strategic Plan 2022-2026 includes ten axes with their respective specific goals, lines of action, and strategic activities to strengthen previous work, to continue improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Public Ministry to provide a timely, prompt, and reliable response to the population in the face of criminal phenomena and their demand for justice.
The report shows the progress accomplished during the first year of work. It is divided into five chapters, seeking to reflect the complete work performed in all the areas of the institution.
The Secretary-General, Angel Pineda, highlighted that the results of the work carried out during the first term in office of Dr. Porras Argueta were overwhelming, achieving 95% of the actions set out in the Strategic Plan of the Public Ministry for the five years 2018-2023. This translates into reaching historical milestones such as institutional coverage across the country, reducing tax arrears, and creating specialized models of attention to vulnerable groups. Overall, this indicates a comprehensive strengthening of the institution, promoting through tangible and irrefutable actions a real fight against impunity and better access to justice for Guatemala, in compliance with the principle of legality.
He also emphasized Dr. Porras’ tireless commitment and professionalism, which has driven her to continue innovating and strengthening the Public Ministry.
The Attorney General stated that the report 2022-2023 is a democratic exercise of accountability and compliance with the requirements of the Political Constitution of the Republic.
She mentioned her daily effort to ensure a culture of legality and respect through Public Ministry strengthening, achieving objective, impartial, and non-biased work.
Likewise, she ensures rigorous investigations, upholding human rights and due process, and focusing on law compliance. Therefore, any person found responsible must face the consequences, whomever they may be.
Dr. Porras Argueta reaffirmed the unwavering commitment to guarantee objective and non-selective justice since the law is for everyone, with no exceptions.
She added that having succeeded in shifting the Public Ministry from politicization and instrumentalization to the consolidation of the Constitutional Rule of Law, which implies law enforcement for all, has entailed many challenges, but also many satisfactions.
Finally, she stated, “We are leaving to the Guatemalan citizens a significant and relevant access to justice that was achieved through the different actions we have demonstrated.”
The Attorney General emphasized the intense work undertaken during the first four years of her administration, creating and implementing all the actions, tools, strategies, and provisions that allow for a modern and strengthened Public Ministry throughout the country.
“For this second term, the Strategic Institutional Plan 2022-2026 seeks to continue to improve institutional efficiency and effectiveness and to provide citizens with the maximum response in the search for justice.
For this reason, today, with profound satisfaction, I can report that, as of March 31, 2023, we have managed to reduce the arrears received by 90%, representing the solving of 1,136,000 cases.” Dr. Porras stated.
“More than numbers, these results imply that we are bringing justice to all people and that they feel satisfied with the service provided; for this reason, we are also seeking to improve the attention of the Justice System in general.”
Implementing the Integrated Case Management Model has reduced tax delinquency and resulted in a Comprehensive Case Management Model, which allowed for the reduction of tax arrears and has resolved 92% of the complaints received since May 2018.
Thanks to Interinstitutional coordinated efforts, the care of crime victims and vulnerable groups will be available and the Comprehensive Care Models -CCM- will be inaugurated in Coatepeque and Santa Rosa. Specialized models will soon be implemented in the areas with the highest incidence of crime in terms of violence against children, adolescents, and women.
Among Dr. Porras Argueta’s priorities is the fight against corruption, which actions include the creation of Specialized Agencies in Quetzaltenango and Zacapa, which are among the areas with the highest incidence of crime. Another priority is the design and implementation of the Cybercrime Unit attached to the Transnational Crime Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the interagency coordination, nationally and internationally, to fight against organized international crimes.
The Institutional Integrity System of the Public Ministry was established; the criminal prosecution strategy included creating and implementing agencies specialized in cases of femicide; and fighting crimes committed outside of national borders.These are handled strategically with international intelligence agencies. Additionally, the Transnational Crimes Prosecutor’s Office, the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity, the Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Foreign Tourists, the Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Journalists, the Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Justice Operators and Trade Unionists, and the Prosecutor’s Office for the Extinction of Ownership were reinforced.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Directorate of Criminal Analysis were also reinforced to improve their efficiency and positively affect the work of the prosecutor’s departments.
Other efforts are focused on the institution’s digital transformation through the modernization of the computerized case system, making the Public Ministry the first Intelligent Institution. For this purpose, it has implemented the platform Technological Applications for the Strategic Resolution of Cases and Attention to Victims -ASRCAV-
The Attorney General highlighted, “Today, I want to express my deep gratitude and recognition to the prosecutors and technical and administrative staff of the Public Ministry whose dynamism, ethics, dedication, and commitment to the institution and the people of Guatemala have allowed a successful first Constitutional term, and will allow us to continue with the same work methodology to obtain unprecedented results such as those achieved during these five years. We have positioned the institution in the first place of efficiency in the Justice Sector since 2018. Today, five years later, I can affirm with great satisfaction that we have strengthened the Public Ministry as an eminently technical and legal institution, without any bias or political ideology, strictly focused on fulfilling its legal and constitutional mandate.”
The President of the Republic of Guatemala, Dr. Alejandro Giammattei, emphasized that the decision to appoint Dr. Porras Argueta for a second term as Head of the Public Ministry was right.
During the President’s speech, he highlighted her academic, professional, and human qualities that make the work of the Public Ministry stand out for providing a certified service, efficiency in the resolution of cases, strengthening the attention provided to vulnerable groups through specialized attention, the following implementation of the Model of Attention to Migrants, and the participation in the electoral process 2023. All of the mentioned work aligns with the Government’s General Policy that seeks to improve the country’s governance to ensure peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
The Engineer Otto Santizo, Coordinator of the Integrated Information System of the Public Ministry, stated that during the administration of Dr. María Consuelo Porras Argueta, several institutional milestones have been achieved due to strategic actions consistent with the justice needs of the population and the commitment of making good use of resources.
The President highlighted that creating 273 Prosecutor’s Agencies in Municipalities across the country brought justice closer to everyone. This nationwide coverage resulted in an important partnership with the Municipal and Section District Prosecutor’s Offices. He stated that almost 50% of the complaints were handled by these prosecutors’ agencies, which have international certification and guarantee excellent service to Guatemalan citizens.
The implementation of the GIC and Comprehensive Attention to vulnerable groups have been achieved with other institutions, as well as strengthening the capacities of the DICRI and the DAC to carry out investigations. The technological modernization and technological transformation of the Public Ministry were also emphasized to improve services, with the implementation of Astrea, which allows for interinstitutional connection.
The first report of the second term of Dr. María Consuelo Porras Argueta is available at: http://https://www.mp.gob.gt/documentos/
