Current political situacion May 2026

Civil society’s demands for the new Attorney General

On Saturday, May 16, Consuelo Porras’s highly contentious term as Attorney General and head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) came to an end. Following this transition, indigenous authorities from the Maya and Xinka peoples issued a statement calling on the new Attorney General, Gabriel Estuardo García Luna, to change course and root out deeply troubling corruption within the MP. One of their primary demands is “the prompt review of criminalization cases against indigenous authorities who defended democracy in 2023, as well as against journalists, human rights defenders, judges, and prosecutors who were investigating cases of large-scale corruption. Furthermore, we ask that those who were involved in quashing those investigations be held accountable for their actions.”1

Demonstrations were held in several departments across the country, at which protestors celebrated Porras’ departure and voiced their demands to the new Attorney General. The people of Quetzaltenango called for “an end to the persecution, prosecution, and criminalization of indigenous leaders, USAC students and faculty, human rights defenders, justice officials, and journalists,” according to a press release from the Multisectorial de Occidente.2

Likewise, in a letter published by the Mexico-based organization Artículo 19, organizations that defend freedom of the press and freedom of expression in the country called on the new Attorney General to end the criminalization of journalists and restore the rights that were violated during Porras’ disastrous tenure. They demanded “the creation of real conditions and security guarantees so that journalists and communications professionals forced into exile can return to Guatemala without fear of reprisals, arbitrary detention, or judicial persecution.”3

Concerns arise over the reopening of the Fenix nickel mine in El Estor

The Fenix nickel mine, located in El Estor, Izabal, has resumed operations under a new management structure with ties to the United States. The mine previously operated under the names CGN and Pronico. The mine is still affiliated with the Solway Group, which has received international criticism and sanctions for alleged irregularities having to do with its failure to consult indigenous Q’eqchi’ communities prior to starting operations, and for committing different acts of violence against community members in the region who expressed their opposition to the mining operations. To date, several international obligations related to the rights of indigenous communities in the region remain unfulfilled, as upheld in the May 2023 judgment issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in the case of the Maya Q’eqchi’ Indigenous Community of Agua Caliente, Lote 9 v. the State of Guatemala.4 PBI Guatemala is in contact with human rights defenders in the region who have shared their concerns about the mine’s reopening.

Closure of the San Luis Mine in Chinautla

On Monday, May 18, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) announced that it had cancelled the environmental license for the San Luis mine, located in Santa Cruz Chinautla, Department of Guatemala, and imposed a fine of Q80,545.50. The MARN’s decision follows years of struggle and resistance by the Poqomam people, who have denounced the negative impacts of mining on their communities’ health, environment, and economy. “This decision is the result of years of resistance, petitioning, community complaints, and the legitimate defense of our territory. We call on the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) to take immediate action and issue the relevant rulings to deny the license extension, thereby ensuring the complete closure of the San Luis Quarry mining project,” the Ancestral Authorities of Santa Cruz Chinautla said in a statement read during a press conference.5

Trial against Leocadio Juracán provisionally closed6

The Criminal Trial Court of Puerto Barrios, Izabal, ruled to provisionally close the case against former congressman and Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) leader, Leocadio Juracán, who the MP has accused of committing several alleged crimes. This month, the intermediary hearing finally took place after having been postponed at least twice. Juracán noted that the evidence that the MP presented against him was unsubstantiated; thus, the Court granted the MP an additional month to present a final brief. In the meantime, the court decided to provisionally close the case against Juracán and lift the coercive measures that had been imposed on him. A new hearing will be held on July 8 to determine whether the criminal proceedings will continue or be definitively closed.

Juracán was arrested last August 13, on charges of aggravated trespass, damage to the nation’s national and cultural heritage, forest fires, and the sale of forest products without proper documentation. At the initial hearing, held five days after Juracán’s arrest, three of the four charges were dismissed, meaning he was only indicted for aggravated trespass. After this hearing, he was released on alternative measures after posting bail of Q50,000.

The charges against Juracán stem from events that took place on March 5, 2025, when an eviction was carried out in the Río Tebernal community, in Izabal. Juracán had previously filed an injunction to prevent the families from being evicted. Adrián Byron Yuri Mota Vidaurre filed the complaint against Juracán, accusing him of encouraging the evicted people to return to the area.

Former prosecutor Astrid Pimentel is acquitted and released7

The Third Criminal Appeals Chamber upheld the acquittal of Astrid Paola Pimentel, a former prosecutor with the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), after dismissing an appeal filed by the MP due to procedural errors.

The Eleventh Criminal Sentencing Court had already ruled to acquit Pimentel in September 2025, finding that there was no valid evidence to prove that she had committed the crime of disclosing confidential or privileged information. Furthermore, the MP submitted several pieces of evidence that were not admitted due to inconsistencies in their inclusion in the proceedings.

Pimentel was accused of providing information about protected witnesses to the defense team of retired military officer Erick Melgar Padilla in the “Manipulation of Justice” case. During the trial, Pimentel argued that the investigation against her was illegal. Furthermore, she argued that the crime she was charged with was erroneously linked to sections of the Anti-Organized Crime Law, even though—as she stated—the alleged facts “were completely false.” This case is just one of hundreds of charges brought by the MP during Consuelo Porras’s term which sought to criminalize prosecutors who investigated major corruption cases involving officials from past administrations.

Claudia González’s hearing postponed

The trial of Claudia González, former head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), has been postponed until 2027 due to the MP’s absence and an ongoing appeal. González has been charged with abuse of authority for her actions while working with the FECI on a case against former judge Blanca Stalling. González maintains that the case has no legal basis and believes it is part of a political persecution against justice operators involved in anti-corruption cases. Her case is set against a grim backdrop in which, since 2021, prosecutors, judges, and other justice officials linked to anti-corruption investigations have been investigated, imprisoned, or forced into exile. Furthermore, González asserts that her arrest was intended to intimidate other lawyers, sending the message that participating in these cases could lead to reprisals. “No lawyer should go to prison for doing their job.”8

The Tz’utujil people file a new legal challenge against the authorization of 279 mototaxi permits9

In Santiago Atitlán, Sololá, the ancestral authorities of the Tz’utujil people filed a new legal challenge against the authorization of 279 mototaxi permits, following a provisional injunction which allowed the mototaxis to operate. The community argues that the court’s decision violates their collective rights, since the Municipal Council had accepted the agreement that was reached at a community assembly on May 7, 2025, in which the community called for these permits to be repealed. According to spokesperson Diego Petzey, the judge prioritized private interests over the collective well-being of the people. The authorities made it clear that their struggle is not against state institutions; rather, they are demanding respect for Santiago Atitlán’s own democratic system of community decision-making.