Guatemala Files International Arrest for Thelma Aldana

Guatemalan authorities have issued an arrest warrant for former Attorney General Thelma Aldana for allegations of irregular hiring during her tenure.

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An international arrest warrant was ratified Friday, the current Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, confirmed.

"Yes, it seems that it is already (the arrest warrant in Interpol), the case takes administrative matters and any specific detail that you want to know I respectfully ask you to address the prosecutors, all are open doors," said Porras.

Interpol has been placed on “red alert” and urged to locate and extradite Aldana as quickly as possible, Judge Victor Cruz from the Tenth Judicial Criminal Court reported. The former attorney general is believed to be somewhere in the United States.

Aldana stands accused of illegal hiring, namely University of San Carlos de Guatemala’s current dean of the Legal Faculty, Gustavo Bonilla. Despite never working, Bonilla received over Q236,700 (US$30,700) in supposed payments for labor during 2015. 

The former attorney general is also being investigated for allegedly embezzlement, abduction, fraud and tax fraud.

Aldana gained notoriety for his support for the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a body created by the United Nations to fight corruption in Guatemala. She was pivotal in bringing ex-President Otto Perez and his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, to justice.