Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Guatemalan prosecutors have accused Mr Morales of funding irregularities in the 2015 election

Guatemala has said it is withdrawing from a UN-backed anti-corruption commission which has been investigating the country's President Jimmy Morales.

Guatemalan Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel said on Monday that the UN body had 24 hours to leave the country.

She said Mr Morales would continue the fight against corruption, but that there had been a misunderstanding about the investigations into his affairs.

Elected three years ago, Mr Morales initially supported the UN commission.

The mandate of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) has helped prosecutors bring cases against dozens of senior officials and executives.

However, when Mr Morales became the subject of its investigations, the president said he would review its mandate.

His comments were criticised and led to street protests against official corruption and demonstrations demanding his resignation.

During a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, Ms Jovel announced that the CICIG mandate, a United Nations body created in 2006 and designed to strengthen the country's rule of law, would be ending.

Mr Guterres responded in a statement, saying that he "strongly rejects" the decision, adding that the government must abide by the international deal.

The CICIG had sought to prosecute Mr Morales, who was a comedian before becoming president in 2016, over allegations of funding irregularities linked to his 2015 election campaign.

The UN backed calls for the removal of Mr Morales's immunity in order to allow him to be investigated.

That move followed separate CICIG investigations into members of the president's family.</s>Guatemala has said it is withdrawing from a United Nations-backed anti-corruption commission which has been investigating the country’s president.

Jimmy Morales’s government has moved to expel the body that has investigated him, his family and top government officials and is giving its prosecutors a day to leave the country.

Accusing the commission of overreaching and violating Guatemala’s sovereignty, foreign minister Sandra Jovel announced the decision on Monday after meeting with the UN’s secretary general Antonio Guterres.

An hour later in Guatemala City, Mr Morales held a news conference accompanied by his ministers in which he accused the UN and Mr Guterres of being silent in the face of what he said were human rights abuses committed by the commission, known as CICIG for its Spanish initials.

“In spite of Guatemala’s efforts with the United Nations, the silence, passivity and negativism of the secretary general contributed to an uncertainty in the CICIG’s actions that put at risk the country’s sovereignty,” Guatemala’s president said.

Mr Morales was accompanied by members of a Russian family who had been convicted of corruption for the use of false documents to open businesses and buy property in Guatemala, in a case in which the CICIG participated.

“Thank you, Mr President, for your fight for sovereignty and human rights,” said family member Irina Bitkova.

Mr Guterres’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric issued a statement saying the UN expects Guatemala to keep up its end of an agreement that created the commission, until its mandate ends in September.

Mr Guterres “strongly rejects” Guatemala’s complaints in withdrawing from the commission, Mr Dujarric said, adding that the group has made an “important contribution . . . to the fight against impunity in Guatemala”.

Ms Jovel accused the commission and its members of politicising its work, violating Guatemala’s sovereignty, failing to respect the presumption of innocence and causing “division in our society”.

“The CICIG has exceeded its authority,” she said. Ms Jovel said the commission’s officials have 24 hours to leave the country, though a Guatemalan court has ruled that the country has to grant them visas.

During its 11 years operating in Guatemala, CICIG has pressed corruption cases that have implicated more than 600 people, including elected officials, businesspeople and bureaucrats. The commission said in November that it has won 310 convictions and broken up 60 criminal networks.

Mr Morales has made no secret of his contempt for the group – formally, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala – which has investigated the president’s son and his brother, as well as Mr Morales for possible campaign finance violations. They deny the accusations.

MPs have so far rebuffed proposals to lift Mr Morales’s immunity from prosecution.

Mr Morales said in August 2017 he was expelling CICIG’s chief. Though a court quickly blocked that order, the commission head was later barred from re-entering the country after leaving for a business trip. – AP</s>(GUATEMALA CITY) — Guatemala announced Monday it was pulling out of a United Nations-sponsored anti-corruption commission after more than a year of tension between the government and the group, which has investigated top government officials and people close to President Jimmy Morales.

Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel announced the decision after meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the commission, known as CICIG for its initials in Spanish, at the United Nations.

An hour later, Morales, accompanied by ministers and family members of people accused of corruption, held a news conference in Guatemala City in which he accused the U.N. and Guterres of being silent in the face of what he said were human rights abuses committed by CICIG.

“In spite of Guatemala’s efforts with the United Nations, the silence, passivity and negativism of the secretary-general contributed to an uncertainty in the CICIG’s actions that put at risk the country’s sovereignty,” Guatemala’s president said.

Members of a Russian family accused and convicted of corruption for the use of false documents to open businesses and buy property in Guatemala thanked Morales for withdrawing from the commission.

“Thank you, Mr. President, for your fight for sovereignty and human rights,” said Irina Bitkova, whose family was affected by the commission’s work in Guatemala.

Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric issued a statement saying the U.N. expects Guatemala to keep up its end of an agreement that created the commission, until its mandate ends in September.

Guterres “strongly rejects” Guatemala’s complaints in withdrawing from the commission, Dujarric said, adding that the group has made an “important contribution … to the fight against impunity in Guatemala.”

Jovel accused the commission and its members of politicizing its work, violating Guatemala’s sovereignty, failing to respect the presumption of innocence and causing “division in our society.”

“The CICIG has exceeded its authority,” she said. Jovel said the commission’s staffers have 24 hours to leave the country, though a Guatemalan court has ruled that the country has to grant them visas.

During its 11 years operating in Guatemala, CICIG has pressed corruption cases that have implicated more than 600 people, including elected officials, businesspeople and bureaucrats. The commission said in November that it has won 310 convictions and broken up 60 criminal networks.

Morales has made no secret of his contempt for the group — formally, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala — which has investigated the president’s son and his brother. They deny accusations of corruption.

The commission has also tried to bring a case involving purported illegal campaign financing against Morales, who has repeatedly denied involvement in any corruption and calls attempts to investigate him politically motivated. Lawmakers so far have rebuffed proposals to lift Morales’ immunity from prosecution in the matter.

Morales said in August 2017 he was expelling CICIG’s chief. Though a court quickly blocked that order, the commission head was later barred from re-entering the country after leaving for a business trip.

Last year, Morales refused to renew CICIG’s mandate, effectively giving it until September 2019 to wind down operations and leave the country. He used his speech at this fall’s annual U.N. General Assembly meeting of world leaders to inveigh against CICIG and what he called Guterres’ indifference to Guatemala’s concerns.

Most recently, a commission member was detained at an airport for almost a day and refused entry to the country after arriving Saturday. A court ordered his release.</s>GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala’s government said on Monday it was ending within 24 hours the mandate of a U.N.-backed anti-graft body that has clashed with President Jimmy Morales and caused diplomatic rifts between the Central American country and the United Nations.

Guatemalan Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel said in New York that the remit of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, or CICIG, would terminate in the next 24 hours.</s>The United Nations was on a collision course with Guatemala on Monday after the Central American country announced it was pulling out of an agreement on an anti-corruption commission that has set its sights on President Jimmy Morales.

Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a meeting at UN headquarters that the mandate of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) would end in 24 hours.

But the UN chief said in a statement that he “strongly rejects” the decision, adding that the government must abide by the international deal.

“Within 24 hours, the agreement will be terminated by the Guatemalan government with the United Nations,” the foreign minister told a press conference.

The commission has been carrying out investigations since 2007 but has been increasingly at odds with Morales’s government after it began probing the president’s campaign financing.

The president’s son and brother have been accused of tax fraud as a result of the commission’s investigation and are awaiting trial.

“The mandate of the commission is set to end on 3 September 2019,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement.

“Until that date, we expect the government of Guatemala to entirely fulfill its legal obligations under the agreement.”

At the news conference in New York, Jovel accused the commission of “interference” and said Guatemala was defending its sovereignty by scrapping the investigative body.

Morales has barred the head of the commission, Colombian prosecutor Ivan Velasquez, from entering Guatemala.

A member of the commission was detained at the airport on Saturday but finally allowed into the country some 24 hours later.</s>GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemala said it was withdrawing from a United Nations-backed anti-corruption commission and giving its prosecutors a day to leave the country, as President Jimmy Morales moved to expel a body that has investigated him, his family and top government officials.

Accusing the commission of overreach and violating Guatemala's sovereignty, Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel on Monday announced the decision after meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

An hour later in Guatemala City, Morales held a news conference accompanied by his ministers in which he accused the U.N. and Guterres of being silent in the face of what he said were human rights abuses committed by the commission, known as CICIG for its Spanish initials.

"In spite of Guatemala's efforts with the United Nations, the silence, passivity and negativism of the secretary-general contributed to an uncertainty in the CICIG's actions that put at risk the country's sovereignty," Guatemala's president said.

Morales was accompanied by members of a Russian family who had been convicted of corruption for the use of false documents to open businesses and buy property in Guatemala, in a case in which the CICIG participated.

"Thank you, Mr. President, for your fight for sovereignty and human rights," said family member Irina Bitkova.

Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric issued a statement saying the U.N. expects Guatemala to keep up its end of an agreement that created the commission, until its mandate ends in September.

Guterres "strongly rejects" Guatemala's complaints in withdrawing from the commission, Dujarric said, adding that the group has made an "important contribution ... to the fight against impunity in Guatemala."

Jovel accused the commission and its members of politicizing its work, violating Guatemala's sovereignty, failing to respect the presumption of innocence and causing "division in our society."

"The CICIG has exceeded its authority," she said. Jovel said the commission's staffers have 24 hours to leave the country, though a Guatemalan court has ruled that the country has to grant them visas.

U.S. Representative Norma Torres, a Democrat from California who was born in Guatemala, said Morales' presidency "has set the country back years, if not decades."

"When he took office in 2016, Morales had a historic opportunity to give Guatemalans the transparent and effective government that they deserve," she said in a statement. "Instead, when faced with the prospect of criminal investigation by CICIG and the public ministry, he chose to destroy the rule of law in order to protect himself."

During its 11 years operating in Guatemala, CICIG has pressed corruption cases that have implicated more than 600 people, including elected officials, businesspeople and bureaucrats. The commission said in November that it has won 310 convictions and broken up 60 criminal networks.

Morales has made no secret of his contempt for the group — formally, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala — which has investigated the president's son and his brother, as well as Morales for possible campaign finance violations. They deny the accusations.

Lawmakers so far have rebuffed proposals to lift Morales' immunity from prosecution.

Morales said in August 2017 he was expelling CICIG's chief. Though a court quickly blocked that order, the commission head was later barred from re-entering the country after leaving for a business trip.

Last year, Morales refused to renew CICIG's mandate, effectively giving it until September 2019 to wind down operations and leave the country. He used his speech at this fall's annual U.N. General Assembly meeting of world leaders to inveigh against CICIG.

Most recently, a commission member was detained at an airport for almost a day and refused entry to the country after arriving Saturday. A court ordered his release.</s>Guatemala announced Monday it was pulling out of a United Nations-sponsored anti-corruption commission after more than a year of tension between the government and the group, which has investigated top government officials and people close to President Jimmy Morales.

Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel announced the decision after meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the commission, known as CICIG for its initials in Spanish.

She accused the group and its members of politicizing its work, violating Guatemala's sovereign authority, failing to respect the presumption of innocence and causing "division in our society."

"The CICIG has exceeded its authority," she said. Jovel said the commission's staffers have 24 hours to leave the country, though a Guatemalan court has ruled that the country has to grant them visas.

There was no immediate response from the U.N. Before the announcement, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres continues to support the commission's work "and expects the Guatemalan government to provide the commission with all the assistance necessary for the discharge of its functions and activities."

During its 11 years operating in Guatemala, CICIG has pressed corruption cases that have implicated more than 600 people, including elected officials, businesspeople and bureaucrats.

Morales has made no secret of his contempt for the group — formally, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala — which has investigated the president's son and his brother. They deny accusations of corruption.

The commission has also tried to bring a case involving purported illegal campaign financing against Morales, who similarly denies the allegations. Lawmakers so far have rebuffed proposals to lift Morales' immunity from prosecution in the matter.

Morales said in August 2017 he was expelling CICIG's chief. Though a court quickly blocked that order, the commission head was later barred from re-entering the country after leaving for a business trip.

Last year, Morales refused to renew CICIG's mandate, effectively giving it until September 2019 to wind down operations and leave the country.

Most recently, a commission member was detained at an airport for almost a day and refused entry to the country after arriving Saturday. A court ordered his release.</s>GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemala brushed aside protests from the United Nations and pressed ahead on Tuesday (Jan 8) with shutting down a UN anti-corruption mission in the Central American country after it began investigating President Jimmy Morales.

The move, communicated on Monday to the world body in New York by Guatemalan Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel, has racked up tensions in the country, where civil organisations have threatened anti-government protests.

Jovel gave UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres 24 hours' notice on Monday that Morales was terminating the mandate of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).

The UN chief said he "strongly" rejected the decision, insisting the government abide by an international agreement in place since 2007.

Business leaders and right-wing groups backed Morales's decision in a statement, slamming the UN mission for "a serious lack of due process" and insisting the move was constitutional.

However, outraged humanitarian, indigenous and university organisations called on the government to reverse the decision.

US Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Ohio, also came out in support of the decision and slammed "violations" by the CICIG.

"A nation's sovereignty is the core of its freedom," Lee said in a tweet. "Guatemala has every right to speak up and defend violations of sovereignty and abuses committed by the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala."

The Guatemala Immortal group urged the population to support Morales's decision, saying the CICIG had been "taking over the justice system."

Rigoberta Menchu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992, said Morales's unilateral decision was "one more sign of progressive institutional breakdown," as well as of the rule of law.

Menchu praised the work of the UN mission, saying it had "contributed significantly to the fight against corruption and impunity and strengthened the system of justice and democracy in Guatemala."



Guatemalan officials sought to bar a Colombian investigator for the mission from entering the country over the weekend, and had a lengthy confrontation with the mission leader, Colombian prosecutor Ivan Velasquez, who Morales has repeatedly tried to expel from the country.

The commission has typically gone after high-level officials and corporate executives, including Morales's son and brother, who were charged with tax evasion and money laundering in 2016.

The situation worsened in August 2017, when the CICIG began investigating Morales himself for corruption, involving his party's campaign finances when he won the presidency in 2015.

At a news conference in New York late Monday, Jovel accused the commission of "interference" and said Guatemala was defending its sovereignty by scrapping the investigative body.

However, Guatemala's ombudsman Jordan Rodas said the decision violated international treaties and lodged an appeal with the country's Constitutional Court, which had originally endorsed the mission.

Rodas said Morales's actions were an attack on democracy and the fight against corruption.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International's Americas director, said the move was "the latest blow to the fight against impunity and clearly shows its worrying lack of willingness to work toward an independent justice system that guarantees the rights of all people in Guatemala."</s>Guatemala City, Guatemala - The government of Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has said it is withdrawing from a UN-backed anti-corruption commission and is giving the body's staff 24 hours to leave the country, in a move that drew criticism from human rights groups and constitutional lawyers.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Morales accused the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, commonly known as CICIG, of polarising the country and putting its security at risk, as well as violating human rights and being allied with criminal structures and "terrorists".

"The State of Guatemala terminates the agreement with CICIG because of the serious violation of national and international laws," Morales said in Guatemala City, adding that his government had waited 16 months for the UN to respond to their complaints.

"The CICIG has put at risk the sovereignty of the people of Guatemala," Morales said, accusing the UN of not "seeking solutions" to alleged violations.

Morales made the comments surrounded by the families of those he asserts are falsely accused by the CICIG, including a Russian family which was prosecuted and sentenced to seven years in prison for using a falsified Guatemalan passport.

Ahead of the press conference, Sandra Jovel, Guatemala's minister of foreign affairs, had informed UN chief Antonio Guterres of the unilateral decision.

"The agreement is finalised," Jovel told reporters. "We hope the secretary-general will respect of sovereignty."

The CICIG was formed in 2006 upon the request of the Guatemalan government to combat high rates of impunity for crimes. It was ratified by the country's legislative branch in 2007 following a massive police scandal.

The commission's 2015 corruption investigation in the administration of Otto Perez Molina led to the resignation of the former president, who is currently facing criminal charges.

Morales utilised an anti-corruption platform in the country's 2015 election, promising voters he was "not corrupt, or a thief". Yet he and his family have faced corruption allegations since taking office in January 2016.

Allies of Morales in the country's Congress led by Estuardo Galdamez, of the FCN-Nacion party, had called on the president to unilaterally repeal the law that formed the body. Many congressional members are currently under investigation for corruption.

In August last year, Morales announced that he would not be renewing the mandate of the anti-impunity body. The president also attempted to declare CICIG head Ivan Velasquez a "persona non-grata" and bar him from the country.

But the country's Constitutional Court in September ruled against the ban on Velasquez, ordering that he must be permitted to re-enter Guatemala. The goverment has remained steadfast in its position, sparking a deepening constitutional crisis.

Earlier on Monday, Stephane Dujarric, UN spokesperson, had urged Guatemala's government to allow the free movement of CICIG staff in the country, as in accordance with the 2006 agreement.

His call came two days after Guatemalan immigration officials denied Yilen Osorio, a Colombian CICIG investigator, entry into the country and detained him upon arrival.

The detention violated a December 21 court order issued by Guatemala's highest court which said the government must allow entry for 11 CICIG investigators whose visas were revoked earlier that month. The government argued that the investigators posed a threat to national security, giving them 72 hours to leave the country.

Osorio was finally permitted to enter the country after being held for some 24 hours following an order by the Constitutional Court.

Oswaldo Samayoa, a Guatemalan constitutional lawyer, said that among those whose visas were removed are the lead investigators of the cases against Morales, his brother and son.

"There is clearly a conflict of interests in the decisions of Morales," Samayoa told Al Jazeera. "It is a form of revenge disguised in the discourse of sovereignty."

Commenting on Guatemala's CICIG withdrawal, Samayoa said Monday's announcement was "disastrous for our country, for our democracy and our fragile institutions".

"All these actions are against the law and constitution," Samayoa added.

"The agreement with the United Nations that formed the CICIG says that only the UN can end the anti-corruption body," explained Samayoa, pointing to articles 11 and 14 of the agreement and citing article 149 of Guatemala's constitution, which upholds the country's commitment to human rights and international accords.

Iduvina Hernandez, director of human rights organisation Security in Democracy, alleged that Morales "is destroying the institutional order".

"These actions are a coup d'etat against the rule of law," Hernandez told Al Jazeera. "This is being carried out by those in government that wish to maintain their privileges."

The president's move was also condemned by Democrats in the United States, including Representative Norma Torres.

"Jimmy Morales' presidency has set the country back years, if not decades," Torres said in a statement.

"Morales had a historic opportunity to give Guatemalans the transparent and effective government that they deserve. Instead, when faced with the prospect of criminal investigation by CICIG and the public ministry, he chose to destroy the rule of law in order to protect himself," Torres wrote.

"He has engaged in a pattern of behaviour that has undermined Guatemala’s justice system and brought the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis."</s>Guatemala City, Jan 6 (EFE).- Two officials with the Guatemalan Immigration Institute (IGM) were arrested Sunday for preventing entry into the country by the investigator of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), Colombia’s Yilen Osorio.



The Public Ministry identified the pair of officials as the IGM delegates at the La Aurora International Airport: Irma Cruz Suntecun Tesucun and Miguel Antonio Cantoral Davila.



They were arrested for being in violation of a resolution issued by Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras.

 Osorio has been at the airport since late on Saturday.



Porras on Sunday ordered prosecutors to arrest anyone failing to comply with the resolutions regarding CICIG issued by the Constitutional Court, the country’s top judicial body.



The Constitutional Court ordered the IGM to allow Osorio’s entry into Guatemala within one hour after being notified to do so.



CICIG is a United Nations body charged with investigating and prosecuting serious crime in Guatemala.



Meanwhile, Guatemala’s 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu, said at a press conference earlier on Sunday that it was “illegal” to “kidnap” an international official and that officials of the Morales government were implicated in the crime, and she called upon the international community to “seek mechanisms to condemn Guatemala because it violated many rules” by prohibiting Osorio’s entry.



Some 20 organizations and indigenous municipalities had called the decision to bar entry to Osorio “shameful” and demanded that Porras investigate the matter and order the arrest of Cantoral Davila and Cruz Suntecun.



So far, there has been no statement released by the government of Jimmy Morales regarding the resolutions of the AG Office or the Constitutional Court.



In August 2017, a crisis erupted between the Morales government and CICIG, but specifically with CICIG Commissioner Ivan Velasquez, who last September was prohibited from entering the Central American country for his “interference” in internal matters and because the government considered him a threat to Guatemala’s peace and security.



CICIG has investigated key members of the Guatemalan government, along with Morales’ son and his brother, although they have denied accusations of corruption.
The government of Guatemala denounces the UN-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and gives it 24 hours to leave the country.