The former Guatemalan official Luis Miguel Martínez Morales assured, after being sanctioned in accordance with the ley Magnitsky by the United States, that the North American nation is manipulated by “resentful leftists.”
Martínez Morales, who according to several sources is one of the closest people to the Guatemalan president, Alejandro Giammattei, indicated in a press release released on Friday night that “It is incredible how the ‘super power’ allows itself to be manipulated by resentful people on the left who only want to harm the country.”
Read also: Miguel Martínez assures that history is not written by lists
The former official’s words come after the United States Department of the Treasury reported on Friday that the collaborator of the Guatemalan president “has influenced the process of government contracts for his benefit and that of people close to him.”
Influential
According to the same source, Miguel Martínez is considered “one of the most powerful unelected officials” of Guatemala and that, although he no longer holds office, he remains “one of the most influential people in the Giammattei Administration.”
That is why the former official was sanctioned in accordance with the Magnitsky law with the withdrawal of his visa and also with the blocking of properties and assets in the United States, among other measures.
The United States also accuses him of having conspired with other officials to illegally award government contracts outside of Guatecompras, the official public contracting platform.
Likewise, Martínez Morales would have also requested “large bribes” in the purchase of the Russian vaccines against COVID-19 Sputnik V.
“Martínez sought to take advantage of his privileged position for personal benefit at the expense of the Guatemalan people”said the Undersecretary of Financial Intelligence of the US Treasury, Brian Nelson.
The North American nation also accuses him of interfering in the electoral process to prevent the transition of the Government to the elected president, Bernardo Arévalo de León.
Miguel Martínez, former head of the Center of Government, publishes a statement after being sanctioned by the United States with the Magnitsky Law.
He rejects accusations of corruption and defends his innocence, promising to use legal means to prove it. pic.twitter.com/MSj7wj7fXO
— CRNNoticias (@CRN_Noticias) December 2, 2023
One day after the withdrawal of immunity from magistrates
The sanction came one day after the Guatemalan Congress removed the immunity of four chief magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for the alleged illegal purchase of unofficial data computing equipment used in the elections held this year.
Opposition deputy Orlando Blanco denounced that the action was ordered by coup plotters who seek to appoint new judges of the Supreme Electoral Court to reverse the victory in the Arévalo de León elections.
Martínez Morales indicated in the press release that the United States sanction “demonstrates the attitude of revenge for the sovereign decision of Congress” with respect to the immunity of the judges.
The 34-year-old former official directed the Government Center in 2020, a powerful presidential commission created by Giammattei that was criticized for duplicating the functions of the vice presidency and dissolved after several controversies.
Martínez Morales, who, according to the president himself, is a friend “from many years ago”headed the office with little experience in public administration.
The Public Ministry of the Central American country, whose leadership is also sanctioned by the US, accuses her of trying to prevent the progressive politician Arévalo de León, winner of the elections, from replacing Giammattei as the new president of Guatemala on January 14.
