Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo’s accusation targets Attorney General Consuelo Porras and criminal court Judge Fredy Orellana, whom the president described as the main operators of a “criminal alliance” seeking to dismantle the democratic order. File Photo by Sarah Yenesel/EPA
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo has accused the prosecutor’s office of leading an attempted coup.
The accusation directly targets Attorney General Consuelo Porras and criminal court Judge Fredy Orellana, whom the president described as the main operators of a “criminal alliance” seeking to dismantle the democratic order.
On Friday, Orellana issued a ruling voiding all actions related to Movimiento Semilla, the party that brought Arévalo to the presidency in 2023, citing allegations of forged signatures in its registration as a political organization.
The order was sent to the Citizens Registry of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and to Congress, instructing lawmakers to take “the measures required by law.”
Arévalo said the move represents a direct attempt to overturn the offices won by Semilla in the last elections, including the presidency, vice presidency, 23 congressional seats and several mayoralties.
“Orellana, a hitman who twists the law at the service of Consuelo Porras, is trying to force the unconstitutional removal of elected officials,” Arévalo said in a televised address to the nation.
Accompanied by Cabinet members and ruling-party lawmakers at the National Palace, Arévalo invoked the Inter-American Democratic Charter and called for an emergency session of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States.
“We call on the international community not to look away from the coup attempt now under way in Guatemala,” he said.
Arévalo also accused Porras and Orellana of co-opting the judicial system for years by using illegitimate prosecutions to jail journalists, prosecutors and activists, and of attempting to manipulate elections.
“They want to bury the possibility of free, transparent and fair elections in 2027,” he warned.
The Attorney General’s Office rejected the president’s accusations, calling them “false” and saying that “no political pressure will stop the ongoing investigations.”
The General Secretariat of the OAS issued a statement calling for “respect for the will of the Guatemalan people,” who elected Arévalo president in 2023 under international observation.
In this complex context, Indigenous authorities, social organizations and student groups have called for demonstrations in defense of democracy and against the judicialization of the electoral process.
In May 2022, the United States sanctioned Porras “for her involvement in significant acts of corruption.” The State Department said Porras repeatedly obstructed and undermined anti-corruption investigations in Guatemala to protect political allies and gain improper political advantage.
Her pattern of obstruction reportedly included ordering prosecutors in the Public Ministry to ignore cases for political reasons and dismissing those who investigated corruption.
The European Union sanctioned her in 2024 and extended the measure through 2026 for undermining democracy in Guatemala.
Arévalo has no constitutional authority to remove the attorney general, who has held office since 2018 and whose term runs until May 2026.
However, he has introduced legislation to reform the system for selecting judicial authorities and to strengthen the independence of the Public Ministry.
