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María Consuelo Porras Argueta (born August 23, 1953) is a Guatemalan attorney who has been serving as the attorney general of Guatemala since 2018. She previously served as Deputy Magistrate of the Constitutional Court from 2016 to 2018. President Jimmy Morales nominated Porras as the new Attorney General and Chief of the Public Prosecutor's Office in May 2018, succeeding Thelma Aldana.[1][2][3][4][5]
María Consuelo Porras | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Porras in 2023 | |
| Attorney General of Guatemala | |
| Assumed office May 17, 2018 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | Thelma Aldana |
| Deputy Magistrate of the Constitutional Court | |
| In office April 14, 2016 – May 10, 2018 | |
| Nominated by | Supreme Court of Justice |
| Preceded by | Carmen María Gutiérrez Sole |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | María Consuelo Porras Argueta August 23, 1953 San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala[citation needed] |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse |
Gilberto de Jesús Porres de Paz
(m. 1991) |
| Alma mater | Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala |
Porras' tenure has been criticized for its backsliding in the fight against corruption.[6]
Porras maintained a strained relationship with the Head of the Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity, Juan Francisco Sandoval, finally dismissing him in July 2021.[7][6] In September 2021 the United States Department of State announced that it had added Porras and five judges from El Salvador to a list of "undemocratic and corrupt" officials.[8] According to the US State Department, Porras "actively undermined" the corruption investigations conducted by Sandoval and his team.[8]
In December 2023, the Organization of American States called Porras' actions to annul the election of Bernardo Arévalo "an attempted coup d’état."[9] In late December 2023, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project named Porras the "2023 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption," for acting "as an efficient instrument used by the government to eviscerate the rule of law" in attempts to prevent Arévalo from assuming office, as well as other actions encouraging democratic backsliding. She was the first female recipient of the award.[10]
After Arévalo's inauguration in January 2024, he demanded Porras' resignation, which she refused.[11]
On February 2, 2024, she was sanctioned by the European Union, making her subject to a travel ban and asset freeze in all 27 EU member states. The decision was taken as a result of her persistent attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2023 Guatemalan elections and use of her office to initiate proceedings against journalists, activists and independent prosecutors and judges.[12] In the same month, Canada also imposed sanctions against Porras for her role in the 2023 election.[13]
See also
edit- Thelma Aldana - Former Attorney General of Guatemala
- 2023 Guatemalan general election#Political crisis
References
edit- ^ María Consuelo Porras Argueta es la nueva fiscal General
- ^ La magistrada devota
- ^ Jimmy Morales y María Consuelo Porras: ¿con CICIG o sin CICIG?
- ^ Nueva fiscal general María Consuelo Porras
- ^ María Consuelo Porras Argueta es nombrada como Fiscal General y jefa del Ministerio Público
- ^ a b Blinken, Antony [@SecBlinken] (July 25, 2021). "We stand with the people of Guatemala and with Prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval, whom I recognized this year with an Anticorruption Champion Award. His dismissal undermines the rule of law and strengthens the forces of impunity. Guatemalans deserve better" (Tweet). Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Juan Francisco Sandoval y su lucha contra la corrupción". elPeriódico de Guatemala (in Spanish). July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "U.S. adds top Guatemalan, Salvadoran officials to corruption list". swissinfo.ch. September 20, 2021. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ Montes, Juan. "Guatemala Prosecutors Say Presidential Election Results Must Be Annulled". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ "María Consuelo Porras". OCCRP. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ "Guatemala's embattled attorney general says she will not step down". AP News. January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ "COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2024/455 of 2 February 2024 implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/287 concerning restrictive measures in iew of the situation in Guatemala". Official Journal of the European Union.
- ^ "Canadá sanciona a implicados en socavar la democracia en Guatemala". Emisoras Unidas (in Spanish). February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
External links
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