A Guatemalan court has cleared Deputy Minister Luis Pacheco and three other Indigenous leaders of terrorism charges linked to protests in 2023. Third Criminal Court Judge Mynor Moto dismissed the case at prosecutors’ request after their investigation concluded the four had not broken any laws by organising the demonstrations.
What the prosecution alleged
Prosecutors had accused Pacheco, Hector Chaclan, Basilio Puac and Esteban Toc of illicit association, terrorism and obstructing justice. Puac and Toc also faced sedition charges.
The demonstrations demanded the resignation of former Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who was accused of trying to block President Bernardo Arevalo from taking office after his 2023 election win. Pacheco previously led the 48 Cantones of Totonicapan, a Maya Indigenous authority known for organising protests. Chaclan was the group’s former treasurer, Puac its former vice president, and Toc a former deputy mayor of the Indigenous municipality of Solola.
A wider reversal of prosecutions
The ruling adds to the collapse of prosecutions brought under Porras. The United States, European Union, Canada and other governments sanctioned her over corruption allegations, the persecution of human rights advocates and efforts to undermine Arevalo’s election victory. A judicial commission left Porras off the shortlist for attorney general candidates in April, ending her bid for a third term.
The United Nations human rights office said the decision reaffirmed freedom of expression and assembly and recognised legitimate forms of Indigenous organising. It also said it had documented a broader pattern of criminalising Indigenous leaders in Guatemala. Read the context: Indigenous leaders report organised crime taking Amazon communities hostage in Brazil.
What happens next
Pacheco had been suspended from his post as deputy minister of sustainable development at Guatemala’s Ministry of Energy and Mines during the case. The ministry welcomed the ruling and said it expected him to return to work shortly. Arevalo’s administration has also made reviewing prosecutions considered arbitrarily brought under Porras a priority through a new attorney general.
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