What originated the tension between Guatemala and Colombia

Since Monday, diplomatic relations between Guatemala and Colombia have registered an escalation of tension, these after the announcement by the Prosecutor’s Office of that country to bring to justice the current Colombian Defense Minister, Iván Velásquez.

Velásquez was head of the UN anti-mafia mission from 2013 to 2019 in Guatemala. He is accused of endorsing, allegedly irregularly, the agreements of “effective collaborator” (protected witness) of three former Brazilian executives in the case of bribery from the construction company Odebrecht in Guatemala, the head of the Prosecutor’s Office said in a video broadcast on social networks Special Against Impunity (FECI), Rafael Curruchiche.

According to Curruchiche, Velásquez and former Attorney General Thelma Aldana (2014-2018) granted the “go-ahead” in 2017 to sign the effective collaborator agreements in the midst of the investigation against Odebrecht, “which denotes that they had full knowledge of the obscure and corrupt negotiations that were being carried out” with the Brazilian firm.

The FECI “will undertake the corresponding legal actions” so that Velásquez and others involved in the case “respond for their illegal, arbitrary, and abusive acts,” considering that the negotiation caused “serious detriment to the State of Guatemala,” he said.

For his part, Gustavo Petro defended his official and called the ambassador in Guatemala for consultation.

Velásquez “proved to fight against corruption and we will not allow corruption to persecute him,” said the president.

Instead, the United States condemned the arrest warrants that were issued against those involved in the anti-corruption fight, said the head of US diplomacy for Latin America, Brian Nichols.

“We are concerned about the arrest warrants from @MPguatemala against people who worked to guarantee #Accountability for corruption in the Odebrecht case in Guatemala,” Nichols said in a tweet referring to the public ministry (MP).

“Such actions weaken the #RuleOfLaw and trust in the Guatemalan justice system,” the official adds.

Last year, Washington included Rafael Curruchiche and 15 other Guatemalans in updating its list of “corrupt” Central Americans, including people who helped prosecute justice officials, one of Washington’s recurring criticisms of the government of the Conservative Alejandro Giammattei. (YO)