This Thursday, the United States included three Guatemalan prosecutors and the former president of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) on its list of corrupt individuals. The sanction is because they have interfered in the electoral process that left Bernardo Arevalo as president.
In addition to the inclusion of the Guatemalans, the United States government also included the Minister of Strategic Planning of Honduras, Ricardo Salgado.
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Joe Biden’s administration sanctioned Guatemalan prosecutors Leonor Morales, Noé Rivera and Pedro Otto Hernández, as well as the former president of the Supreme Court Silvia Valdés Quezada, whom it accuses of “undermining” democracy.
The US considers that these people have tried to reverse the presidential elections that Bernardo Arévalo de León won and have persecuted judicial officials who were fighting corruption in Guatemala.
Morales, for example, said in a press conference that the elections should be annulled.
#LAST MINUTE | The US puts Guatemalan prosecutors and a Honduran minister on its list of corrupt people. pic.twitter.com/GFTBbiIeLO
— EFE News (@EFEnoticias) December 21, 2023
Other corrupt people along with Guatemalans on the United States list
The List of Corrupt Actors in Central America, known as the Engel List, includes those responsible for the closure of the Central American University of Nicaragua. Additionally, three members of the Institute for Access to Public Information of El Salvador, among others.
The United States also accuses the Minister of Strategic Planning of Honduras, Ricardo Salgado. This for coordinating members of the Free Party to “repress” and “violently intimidate” opposition legislators in Congress. It happened on October 31, when the appointment of the new attorney general was being debated.
Salgado has been critical of the US Government, which he has accused of conspiring against the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro.
The US adds Guatemalan prosecutors and a Honduran minister to its list of corrupt officials #LaPatillaUSA
— La Patilla (@la_patilla) December 21, 2023
The US Government also included Honduran businessmen Mohammad Yusuf Amdani Bai and Cristian Adolfo Sánchez, who are linked to corruption cases, on the Engel List.
Likewise, Nicaraguan judge Gloria Saavedra and officials Maribel Duriez and Ramona Rodríguez entered the list for their responsibility in the closure by the Government of the Central American University, one of the most prestigious educational centers in Nicaragua.
The same judge authorized the arrest of the bishop of the diocese of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez, one of the most critical voices against the Government of Daniel Ortega.
Also included on the list were the president and two commissioners of the Salvadoran transparency institute, Ricardo Gómez, Gerardo Guerrero, and Andrés Rodríguez. This for “deliberately and unfairly blocking” access to information.
The Institute for Access to Public Information (LAIP) is accused by civil society organizations of promoting opacity about the mandate of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
In a statement, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller referred to the issue. He warned that corruption and undemocratic practices in Central America “generate instability and drive migration” on the continent.
The US State Department updated the “Engel List” of corrupt and undemocratic actors, which included four other Guatemalans, including two prosecutors from the FECI, one from Internal Affairs, as well as the former magistrate of the CSJ, Silvia Valdés. 👇
— Engelberth Blanco (@Engelgblanco) December 21, 2023
For this reason, Miller assured that the United States works to promote “democratic norms” in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. At the same time he called on his governments to put an “end to corruption.”
The Engel List, named after Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel who promoted it in 2019, is prepared by the State Department and involves the imposition of sanctions for people who are included on it.
