Guatemala City, Oct. 16 (EFE) – Guatemala’s public prosecutor’s office on Monday requested the dismissal of Interior Minister David Barrientos for not using public force to clear the roadblocks that have been in place for 15 days in the country.
The petition was submitted to the Constitutional Court, Guatemala’s highest court, by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, headed by Consuelo Porras.
The motion alleges that Minister Barrientos has committed “disobedience” by failing to comply with an order from that court to remove the roadblocks.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office statement, the protests, which also include a sit-in in front of its headquarters, are preventing it from carrying out its investigative duties.
The blockades began on October 2 to demand the removal of Porras, who is accused of trying to overturn the results of the elections in Guatemala, to prevent progressive Bernardo Arévalo de León from assuming the presidency in 2024.
Last week, the National Civil Police attempted to clear two of the blockades, but the operations failed when they were pushed back by the protesters.
Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States since 2021, accused of “undermining justice” in the Central American country, has reiterated that she will not resign, despite the growing rejection by various sectors of civil society and the international community.
The president-elect, Arévalo de León, has openly accused him of leading an attempted coup to prevent him from taking office on January 14. EFE
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