Guatemalan court dismisses terrorism case against deputy minister and Indigenous leaders
Judge Mynor Moto dismissed charges against Luis Pacheco and three Indigenous leaders over their role in 2023 protests demanding former attorney general Consuelo Porras resign.
A Guatemalan court has dismissed terrorism and related charges against deputy minister Luis Pacheco and three Indigenous leaders who helped organise protests in October 2023.
Third Criminal Court judge Mynor Moto dismissed the case on Friday at the request of prosecutors. Their investigation concluded the four had not broken any laws by organising the demonstrations.
The defendants had faced accusations including illicit association, terrorism and obstructing justice. Basilio Puac and Esteban Toc also faced sedition charges. The protests demanded the resignation of then-attorney general Consuelo Porras, who was accused of attempting to block Bernardo Arevalo’s election victory and inauguration.
Pacheco, deputy minister of sustainable development at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, previously led the 48 Cantones of Totonicapan, a Maya Indigenous authority. He had been suspended from his post during the case, and the ministry said it expected him to return to work shortly.
The ruling follows the collapse of a prosecution brought under Porras, who lost her bid for a third term in April after being excluded from the candidates’ shortlist. Arevalo, who took office in 2024 after months of legal challenges, has made reviewing prosecutions brought under Porras a priority.
The United Nations human rights office said the decision reaffirmed freedom of expression and assembly and recognised legitimate Indigenous organising. It also said it had documented a wider pattern of criminalising Indigenous leaders in Guatemala.
