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Guatemala's social justice group, Justice Now has called for President Jimmy Morales' resignation after he declared U.N. anti-corruption commissioner Ivan Velasquez "non grata" and attempted to expel the official from the country Sunday, as several administration officials resigned in protest.
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"President Morales is obstructing justice and must resign, he is making a desperate attempt to protect himself and in return is putting at risk the entire population," said Briseida Milian, a member of Justice Now.
A protest in the capital brought 2,500 demonstrators to Guatemala City, pushing for the president to resign.
Morales attempted to expel Valesquez, who has worked for years as the head of United Nations International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, the organization dedicated to investigating corruption cases.
The motion was later overruled by the Constitutional Court with provisional protection being granted to Velasquez.
"You take a stand in favor of impunity and corrupt sectors of the country, contradicting all statements about justice and transparency. Faced with these arrogant actions that seem aimed at obstructing justice, we consider that the work plan that we were developing ceases to be ethically and politically unviable in a government such as yours," explained former Health Minister Hernandez Mack, who was the first official to deliver her resignation in protest of the president’s decision.
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She was followed by vice-ministers Adrian Chavez, Juan Carlos Verdugo Urrejola, and Edgar Rolando Gonzalez Barreno, and Enrique Godoy.
“Given the president's decisions to declare Mr. Ivan Velasquez ‘non grata’ and what this implies in the fight against impunity, I have decided to present my resignation as Deputy Coordinator of Pronacom and president of the board of directors of Infom," said Godoy.
The UN commission lead by Velasquez “"has played a vital role in the fight against impunity and corruption that undermine security and prosperity in Guatemala. The decision to expel Commissioner Ivan Velasquez harms the ability of CICIG to achieve its mandate," the statement read.
Morales defended his actions stating he had the right to declare a person ‘non grata’ without any explanation.
“But as president I consider it important to tell the people the reasons (...) I decided to name it non grata as an act of loyalty to the country. .) He tried to pressure congressional deputies to carry out constitutional reforms," the president said at a press conference broadcast by the official channel of the Guatemalan government.
A working member of the U.N. commission and chief prosecutor, Thelma Aldana, announced Friday her plans to recommend the Supreme Court strip the state head of his immunity from prosecution and begin an investigation into his 2015 campaign finances $800,00 of which he has refused to account for.
No le tengamos miedo a la verdad. Las investigaciones deben avanzar. Nunca más unas elecciones fraudulentas. #JimmySeVa #JusticiaYa pic.twitter.com/TiCEI9CLWT
— #JusticiaYa (@justiciayagt) August 27, 2017
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