On Wednesday, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) held a special meeting to address the political disruption surrounding the presidential transition in Guatemala. César Bernardo Arévalo de León, who was elected president in August in what was largely viewed as a landslide victory, has seen his transition effort hampered by actions from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
Following the declaration of Arévalo’s victory, the TSE has been subjected to four separate raids by Guatemala’s Public Ministry (PM). In an interview with PBS, Arévalo described these actions as a “coup,” intended to prevent him from assuming his role as president. The OAS’s reaction to these events was notably severe, with its head, Luis Almagro, condemning the actions of the Guatemalan prosecutor as a “shameful example for the hemisphere” in a statement to Reuters.
The aforementioned raids sparked large demonstrations in Guatemala City, with protestors calling for the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo Porras and prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, the top-ranking anti-corruption prosecutor in the PM. However, Curruchiche, notably active on X (formerly known as Twitter), refused to resign, vowing to continue “the investigation of the Truth” and pledging to maintain the democracy and sovereignty of Guatemala.
The U.S. State Department, last week, made their sentiments clear with a statement underscoring the condemnation of recent “anti-democratic actions in Guatemala.” At the OAS meeting, the U.S. Mission expressed its concerns regarding the volatile climate currently brewing within the country. The U.S. further motioned for the OAS to invoke Chapter IV of the Inter-American Democratic Charter as a measure to prompt “immediate cessation” of the recent anti-democratic activities by Guatemalan prosecutors.