source: Prensa Comunitaria
A group of United Nations (UN) experts reported that they received complaints about illegal international adoptions of at least 80 indigenous children from Guatemala, following their illegal detentions and forced disappearances between 1968 and 1996, who were institutionalized in the Elisa Martínez Temporary Home.
These reports include information implicating Guatemala's current attorney general, Consuelo Porras.
The experts called for independent investigations into allegations that public officials at the time were involved in these illegal international adoption processes. “This includes the former Director/Administrator of the Elisa Martínez Temporary Home, María Consuelo Porras Argueta (now Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Guatemala) who, according to reports, was the children’s ‘legal guardian’ from January 21 to August 30, 1982.”
In the press release, they expressed their concern “that no prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial investigation has been conducted into the alleged involvement of some state authorities in these processes.”
Call for caution in appointing judges
The group of experts urged the bodies responsible for second-level elections to exercise caution when appointing individuals who have been accused of serious allegations that have not yet been investigated, such as Consuelo Porras, who ran for judge of the Constitutional Court (CC).
“All individuals against whom there are credible allegations of conduct incompatible with human rights standards, especially those who have had the authority to make decisions related to criminalization or human rights violations, should not be shortlisted or appointed until a prompt, independent, and thorough investigation of those allegations has been conducted,” they said in the statement.
UN officials called on the Guatemalan government to investigate those responsible for this incident. “The victims have the right to access all remedies available under international and national law, including judicial and non-judicial mechanisms, truth-seeking initiatives, criminal proceedings, reparations, and guarantees of non-repetition.”
Consuleo Porras and her time at the Public Prosecutor's Office
Porras was included in the list of six professionals selected by the Nominating Commission in 2018, which was presented to then-President Jimmy Morales with a score of 75 points.
In 2022, she was included in the list of candidates for attorney general after the Constitutional Court (CC) granted an injunction to lawyer Erick Castillo, who acted on her behalf when the list was being drawn up, as she was in danger of being excluded from the list that would be sent to Alejandro Giammattei due to allegations of human rights violations. A few days later, Giammattei re-elected her as attorney general.
In September 2021, she was included in the List of Corrupt and Undemocratic Persons by the U.S. Department of State for North and Central America, known as the Engel List.
Since January 2024, she has been banned from entering 40 European countries as a result of sanctions imposed by the European Parliament for attempts to overturn the 2023 election results.
