Caribbean & Central America - August 2026

Since taking over in May from discredited attorney general (AG) María Consuelo Porras (2018-2026), who was subject to international sanctions, Gabriel García Luna has sparked optimism regarding the direction of anti-corruption efforts under Guatemala’s left-of-centre President Bernardo Arévalo [SSR-26-06]. Having moved on dismantling Porras’ inner circle within his office, under García Luna full cooperation has resumed with the US, which had been limited since 2021 amid concerns about the deterioration of the rule of law and politicisation of justice.

Since García Luna took over on 17 May, key Porras allies have resigned. These include the AG’s secretary general, Ángel Pineda, who like his former boss was sanctioned over corruption by the US, European Union, and other countries, and appeared on Washington’s ‘Corrupt and Undemocratic Actors’ list (the so-called ‘Engel List’), which was first issued in 2021. He resigned the same day that García Luna took office. Others to have quit include Dimas Jiménez, the chief prosecutor for Guatemala City who resigned on 27 May, while Juan Luis Pantaleón González, the attorney general’s spokesperson, quit on 23 May.

Meanwhile, Rafael Curruchiche, the head of the AG’s special anti-impunity unit (Feci), who had also been sanctioned by the US, European Union, and other countries, and was added to the Engel List in 2022, was fired on 20 May as was another Porras ally, Cinthia Monterroso, a prosecutor who was added to the Engel List in 2023.

More generally García Luna has announced the dismantling of the entire Feci, citing a lack of public trust in it and the crucial role it played in the AG’s weaponisation of the justice system, in part through using it to target independent justice operators, lawyers, and rights defenders [SSR-26-06]. In 2 July interview with the Associated Press, which highlighted that García Luna has also launched a commission to review cases of criminalised people, he accused Porras of forming “a parallel government that destroyed the prosecutorial profession, mainly by dismissing between 800 and 1,000 employees during her eight-year tenure.” He also underlined that his office “is not a political entity, nor a political weapon for anyone, and I do not intend to repeat the actions taken in previous administrations.”

The change at the top of the attorney general’s office has also improved ties with the US. On 15 June President Arévalo declared that coordination with the US in addressing organised crime is at the “highest level” following García Luna’s assumption of the post. This followed a visit to Washington by García Luna and Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda on 10 June, where the pair met with officials at the US Department of Justice. Arévalo said the visit “sends a huge message because for a long time, the authorities of the attorney general’s office could not enter the United States because they did not have visas.” The attorney general’s office also announced that García Luna and Villeda had received a recognition plaque from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigation arm of the US Department of Homeland Security, “in the context of strengthening inter-institutional and transnational cooperation in matters of security and justice.” 

Further boost in anti-crime efforts

On 17 June President Bernardo Arévalo sanctioned a new law against money laundering and terrorist financing, which was approved by the 160-member unicameral legislature on 2 June. According to state news agency AGN, the new law reinforces compliance with international obligations regarding the prevention of money laundering, in accordance with global standards; promotes institutional modernisation; strengthens the State’s capacity to prevent and combat such crimes; strengthens the Guatemalan financial system, promoting greater stability, trust, and integrity; and promotes transparency in the public and private sector, among other things.

Mixed messages over US cooperation

With the Guatemalan government having hailed Washington’s lifting of a ban on US arms transfers to Guatemala, earlier this year, as a sign of the strength of bilateral relations [SSR-26-04], relations came under scrutiny at the end of May when President Arévalo was compelled to deny that his government had requested US military cooperation to target drug trafficking groups via joint military strikes in national territory.

He was responding to a New York Times report published on 28 May which claimed he had agreed to such a deal, which would have made Guatemala the latest country in Latin America to allow joint military actions against criminal groups in national territory, after Ecuador and Venezuela [SSR-26-04].

Guatemala’s government said that Defence Minister Henry Sáenz, who attended the launch of the US-led Shield of the Americas security alliance in March [SSR-26-04], had sent a request to Washington for cooperation in operations led by Guatemala’s security forces against narcotrafficking organisations as part of a joint strategy that had been in place since 2024, the year Arévalo took office.