The Public Ministry firmly rejects unsubstantiated, malicious, and undemocratic assertions put forth by the European Council, reflecting a profound misunderstanding of the Guatemalan legal system, undermining the rule of law, and challenging the independence granted to the investigative entity by law.

These systematic attacks aim to exert pressure and intimidate officials of the Public Ministry, posing a significant threat to the rule of law and democracy in Guatemala, with an apparent interest in impeding justice and halting ongoing investigations to favor specific entities.

Such actions are deemed unacceptable as the Public Ministry is an autonomous, objective, and impartial institution. Its legal mandate revolves around ensuring strict compliance with the law, responding exclusively to the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala and the current laws of the country, without being subject to international instances. In this context, the Public Ministry has solely adhered to its constitutional duty to investigate citizen complaints, as neglecting such duties would equate to denying justice to the victims.

The accusatory penal model governing the Guatemalan procedural system imposes checks and jurisdictional controls to establish limits to the state’s prosecutorial and punitive powers, aligning with the framework of constitutional guarantees for citizens. Consequently, actions stemming from the constitutional mandate of the Public Ministry are subject to constitutional scrutiny by the highest court in this matter, the Constitutional Court.

Considering the profile of officials arbitrarily singled out by the European Union, it is to be presumed that this international entity dedicates time to conduct official defenses with an absolute lack of knowledge regarding Guatemala’s constitutional guarantees control system, also resulting in a blatant violation of the autonomy and independence of the Public Ministry as a fundamental institution of Guatemala’s rule of law. As a member of the Central American Integration System (SICA) that ratified the Framework Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America, the Public Ministry, as a legal public entity, hereby reserves the right to take legal actions either unilaterally or through the multilateral space of SICA in accordance with the principles and norms of International Public Law that may be applicable against the European Union.

It is pertinent to reference the declaration made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Alena Douhan, who stated that sanctions of this kind are violative of human rights.

In this regard, the Public Ministry reiterates to the Guatemalan population and the international community that it will persist strongly in its investigations to ensure strict compliance with the law and the pursuit of truth.

February 2, 2024