Guatemala City, by Juan Manuel Vega -AGN-. The Secretary General of the Presidency, Juan Gerardo Guerrero, reported the use of public funds for “the political persecution of Guatemalans abroad” and requested an audit by the Comptroller General of Accounts to establish the facts.
According to Guerrero, the Secretary-General of the Attorney General’s Office -MP-, Ángel Pineda, requested the payment of a foreign law firm seeking to bring charges against two Guatemalans.
“I am here to file a complaint with the Comptroller General’s Office against the use of public funds for the political persecution of Guatemalans abroad,” explained Guerrero.
President Bernardo Arévalo requested an audit for the MP, the Solicitor General’s Office (PGN), and the Ministry of Finance for the 2021 and 2022 periods.
#EnDirecto | Denuncia en contra del secretario general del @MPguatemala, Ángel Pineda. https://t.co/tSLduZmDZ8
— Gobierno Guatemala (@GuatemalaGob) March 7, 2024
On December 16, 2021, Ángel Pineda, as Secretary-General of the MP, sent an official letter to Alejandro Giammattei, President of Guatemala, in which he asked him to pay a law firm to act against two exiled Guatemalans, claiming to defend the interests of the State.
Pineda’s request included only printed posts from social networks; despite this, the former authorities of the General Secretariat ordered the Solicitor General’s Office -PGN- to begin proceedings for payment and to initiate political persecution.
The PGN arranged with the Ministry of Finance and assigned this law firm abroad a monthly payment of $59,030.
After that, the foreign law firm began working against two exiled Guatemalans with a strategy that, according to Guerrero, was approved by the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras.
Regarding the criminal complaints against former officials, Guerrero explained that the request for the CGC audit is to obtain enough information to clarify the facts, and with that, the corresponding legal actions can be taken.
