Colombian president supports Guatemalan defense minister

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Monday’s statement by Gustavo Petro, Colombian President, that he would not consent to any order for the arrest of his defense minister was made after a Guatemalan prosecutor accused him of illegal acts.

On Monday, Rafael Curruchiche, Guatemala’s Special Prosecutor, stated that his unit would initiate “legal actions” against Ivan Velasquez (Defense Minister), an ex-UN anti-corruption investigator from Guatemala.

Curruchiche did announce arrest warrants being issued for several people, including Guatemala’s former Attorney General Thelma Alma Aldana. But he did not mention Velasquez.

Instead, the prosecutor suggested that Velasquez should answer for “illegally, arbitrarily and abusive acts” related to an investigation into alleged Bribery in connection to Odebrecht’s Brazilian construction conglomerate.

Velasquez (67) was the leader of the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity Guatemala between 2013 and 2019. He attracted global attention in 2015 for its investigations into a criminal ring in Guatemala that implicated Guatemala’s former president, who resigned, and was arrested.

Petro tweeted that Velasquez had “showed us how to fight corruption” and added that he had called the Colombian ambassador in Guatemala to discuss this issue.

Velasquez made a statement on Monday regarding the “alleged investigation” and stated that he hadn’t been notified about any Guatemalan authorities inquiries involving him.

Velasquez stated in the statement, “I have peace of mind that the work done in Central America was done in total transparency and within legal framework that supported CICIG’s operations.”

(Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle, Editing by Christian Schmollinger