Guatemala’s Democracy Under Siege: US Slaps Financial Sanctions on 10 Officials

The United States has imposed financial sanctions on ten Guatemalan officials, including judges and prosecutors accused of undermining democracy and targeting journalists in the Central American country.

The Move to Protect Democracy

In a report issued yesterday, the US State Department identified individuals who have “knowingly engaged in acts that undermine democratic processes or institutions, in significant corruption, or in obstruction of investigations into such acts of corruption” in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. The sanctions target officials accused of human rights abuses, corruption, and election interference.

Sanctioned Officials

The following officials have been targeted by the US sanctions:

• Cinthia Monterroso: Prosecutor who helped prosecute journalist Jose Ruben Zamora on what are largely believed to be politically motivated charges of money laundering.
• Fredy Orellana: Judge involved in Zamora’s trial.
• Jimi Bremer: Judge involved in Zamora’s trial.
• Mauricio Funes: Former president of El Salvador
• Salvador Sanchez Ceran: Former president of El Salvador
• (Six other officials from Honduras and Nicaragua also listed)

The Ongoing Electoral Crisis

The move comes amid an ongoing electoral crisis in Guatemala, where the top prosecutor successfully pushed to suspend a progressive political party that had defied expectations in the first round of voting. The suspension drew scrutiny and protest over potential election interference.

Guatemala’s democracy has faced criticism from international organizations, including the Organization of American States (OAS), which alleged that “actors unsatisfied” with June’s election results had abused legal pathways to introduce a “high degree of uncertainty in the electoral process”.

A Fragile Democracy

The US sanctions send a strong message to Guatemalan officials that the US will not tolerate attempts to undermine democracy or human rights. They also raise concerns about the country’s fragile democracy and its ability to hold free and fair elections.

Guatemalan politics are still shaped by the repercussions of a brutal civil conflict that ended after 36 years in 1996, stemming from a US-backed coup that led to a series of dictatorships accused of carrying out widespread abuses and an anti-Indigenous genocide.