Bogotá, Colombia – The Supreme Court of Guatemala has overturned 26 arrest warrants issued last year by the country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, which targeted high-profile figures including Colombian Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo. In a decision made public on Monday, the country’s high court ruled that the prosecutor’s office did not have the authority to issue the warrants in June last year. The court order marks a setback for Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, which rights groups have condemned as a rogue and politically-motivated body.

“[The Prosecutor’s Office] exceeded its legal powers by unlawfully issuing arrest warrants without having the legal authority to do so,” declared the Supreme Court in its ruling. “The issuance of arrest warrants is a power reserved for trial judges… who are responsible for overseeing the investigation,” it continued. In addition to targeting Camargo, the warrants issued last year sought the arrest of former Colombian Defense Minister and current Ambassador to the Holy See, Ivan Velasquez.

Both high-ranking Colombian officials were accused of obstruction of justice, corruption, and influence peddling during their tenure overseeing an investigation into bribes paid to Guatemalan officials by Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Camargo and Velasquez helped lead the United Nations-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which investigated the Odebrecht case, a sweeping corruption scandal in which the construction firm was found guilty of bribing officials in 10 Latin American countries. But the warrants, spearheaded by Guatemalan public prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, were widely decried at the time.

Guatemala’s own government condemned the move, writing, “these actions are carried out with a clear political objective, without grounding in the national and international legal system.” “These are part of a series of actions by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Attorney General of the Republic and judges associated with corruption that have distorted the meaning of justice in Guatemala,” added the Guatemalan government at the time. For years, Guatemala has seen a power struggle between its Attorney General’s Office, led by Maria Consuelo Porras, and the government. Consuelo Porras has been condemned by rights groups for her efforts to block anti-corruption efforts in the country, which have seen her sanctioned by 40 countries, including the United States.

Public Prosecutor Curruchiche has also been widely condemned for interfering in democratic processes, suspending then-presidential candidate Bernardo Arevalo’s party during elections in 2023; Arevalo went on to win. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning the warrants, Curruchiche said he would launch an appeal in the country’s Constitutional Court. Featured image description: Colombian Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo gives a speech. Featured image credit: @FiscaliaCol via X