Guatemala’s top court overturns bid to close UN anti-corruption mission

GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemala’s top court on Wednesday overturned a decision by President Jimmy Morales to shut down a United Nations anti- corruption mission to the central American country. The constitutional court ordered government authorities to tell staff and civil servants to cooperate with the UN mission.

The court’s decision was agreed by four of its five magistrates, with only president Dina Ochoa opposing the move.

It is the latest twist in a saga that erupted last year when the UN’s International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) made a joint request with the state prosecutor’s office to lift Morales’s presidential immunity as part of a probe into illegal campaign financing by his FCNNacion party.

Morales responded by saying he would not renew the CICIG’s mission when it officially ends in September, and later tried unsuccessfully to block the mission’s head, Ivan Velasquez, from entering the country.

Last week, Morales tried to block another CICIG investigator, Yinel Osorio from entering the country, but that was overturned by the courts.

On Monday, Guatemala’s foreign minister Sandra Jovel told the UN that Morales had decided to unilaterally terminate the mission’s mandate.

However, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres insisted Guatemala was legally obligated to maintain the mission, which began in 2006.

Dozens of people gathered in front of the court building in support of the four magistrates who suspended the closure.

The attorney general’s office lashed out at the decision, accusing the four magistrates of committing serious errors of judgment and threatening an investigation.