Lawyers for Lawyers has joined the statement of the International Mission of Jurists for Guatemala following the appointment of Gabriel García Luna as the new Attorney General of the Republic and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Guatemala, who will assume office on 18 May 2026. In the context of this appointment, the Mission underscores that a genuine democratic transition is essential to reverse the patterns of criminalisation against lawyers and other justice operators in Guatemala.
Findings of the International Mission of Jurists for Guatemala
The International Mission of Jurists for Guatemala is a joint initiative of the International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD), Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L), Asociación de Abogados, Abogadas, Jueces y Fiscales de Derechos Humanos de América Latina y el Caribe (AJUFIDH), Asociación de Juezas y Jueces para la Democracia (JJpD) and Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de España (APDHE). These organisation conducted an independent, impartial and comprehensive fact-finding mission to assess of the justice system in Guatemala, with particular focus on the situation of the legal profession and the independence of the judiciary in a context marked by the progressive erosion of the rule of law.
As a result of this work, the Mission published the report “Climate of Fear: The Legal Profession and Judicial Independence at Risk”, which documents persistent patterns of harassment, criminalisation, arbitrary detention and forced exile targeting lawyers, judges, prosecutors, and other justice operators.
The report finds that the criminal justice system has been instrumentalised through the filing of proceedings based on spurious or politically motivated complaints, the disproportionate use of criminal offences, the misuse of procedural secrecy, and the systematic reliance on pre-trial detention as a form of pressure. The Mission found evidence of a sustained process of institutional capture that has particularly affected the Public Prosecutor’s Office, undermining its independence and distorting its constitutional mandate to exercise criminal prosecution with objectivity and impartiality.
Ongoing criminalisation of lawyers
The report documents multiple cases of criminalisation against lawyers who continue to face unfounded criminal proceedings without adequate guarantees of due process and fair trial. These include lawyer Claudia González Orellana, whose trial hearing scheduled for 5 May 2026 was suspended for one year due to the absence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Likewise, lawyer Ramón Cadena, whose intermediate hearing scheduled for 11 May 2026 had to be postponed to August due to the absence of the Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against National Heritage, while the criminal proceedings against him remain ongoing.
The Mission also expresses deep concern regarding lawyers and justice operators who remain in exile due to ongoing criminal proceedings and outstanding arrest warrants. The continuation of multiple proceedings and the persistent risk of arbitrary detention prevent their return to Guatemala under conditions that would guarantee their fundamental rights, including the right to defence, due process, and access to independent and impartial courts.
Appointment and call to action
The Mission takes note that the work plan presented by Gabriel García Luna to the Nomination Commission proposes restoring the autonomy and credibility of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and reorienting prosecutorial policy towards objective criteria, prioritising high-impact cases related to corruption, organised crime, and human rights violations.
This transition represents a crucial opportunity to restore the independence and credibility of the Public Prosecutor’s Office through concrete measures that re-establish its constitutional mandate to exercise criminal prosecution with objectivity, impartiality, and full respect for human rights.
Accordingly, the International Mission of Jurists for Guatemala calls on all State institutions to ensure that the transition and assumption of office by the new authorities are conducted in full respect of legality, institutional independence, and democratic principles.
We further urge the new authorities to promote an institutional transformation aligned with the Constitution of Guatemala and international standards on judicial independence, due process, and access to justice, in order to reverse the patterns of criminalisation and misuse of criminal law documented in recent years.
Read the full statement in Spanish and English.
