Consuelo Porras, the Prosecutor sanctioned by the U.S. and EU, Continues Persecuting Opponents

On August 29, indigenous leader Esteban Toc Tzay was arrested after being charged with terrorism at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Toc Tzay was the deputy mayor of the Sololá department during the 2022-2023 period, and was one of the leaders who participated in the National Strike protests in 2023, representing the indigenous organization The 48 Cantons of Totonicapán. 

The protests erupted after the Public Ministry, led by Consuelo Porras, attempted to prevent President Bernardo Arévalo’s party, the Semilla Movement, from participating in the second round of elections.

Toc Tzay’s arrest follows the criminalization of other members of the organization, Los 48 Cantones, for their participation in the 2023 protests.

At the end of April, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Luis Pacheco was arrested on charges of terrorism and obstructing criminal prosecution. Héctor Chaclán was also arrested.

Luis Pacheco was serving as president of the 48 Cantons, and Héctor Chaclán was serving as treasurer at the time of their arrest.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) has also charged Edgar Tuy with terrorism; however, Tuy enjoys immunity as the governor of Sololá.

Since 2021, Consuelo Porras’s work has been to persecute and criminalize prosecutors, judges, lawyers, human rights defenders, activists, and journalists. Many are currently in exile due to her accusations.

Consuela Porras has been sanctioned by the European Union and the United States for being «corrupt» and «undemocratic.» Her term as prosecutor will end in May 2026 despite the president’s attempts to remove her from office.