Judge resigns fearing for her life

Guatemalan judge Erika Aifán, who handled high-impact corruption cases, resigned on Monday due to pressure from criminal networks and fears for her safety.

“I have decided to present my resignation from office because I do not have sufficient guarantees of

protection for my life,” Aifán said in a video posted on Twitter.”.

The now-former judge made the announcement from the United States, where she went into exile.

Aifán was one of the winners of the 2021 “Women of Courage” international award, which the United States

awards to recognize exceptional female leadership.

Since 2019, she had enjoyed precautionary measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human

Rights (IACHR) for being the target of threats and harassment in the framework of her work.

“I have known large cases of organized crime and corruption structures at all levels of the State from which

the greatest number of pressures and threats against my independence and integrity arise,” she added.

Among the cases she attended, is the alleged rigging to appoint judges in the Judiciary uncovered in 2020 by

the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), orchestrated by the influential businessman

Gustavo Alejos, involved in several corruption cases.

Aifán was facing a process to remove immunity for having ordered the investigation of judges involved in that case, since the networks that were affected by the advances in justice, decided to co-opt the institutions again and persecute those of us who dared to fight impunity,” said the former judge, after indicating that she did not have the guarantees of due process.

The resignation occurs a month after the capture of five former FECI prosecutors and a representative of the now-defunct United Nations International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, accused of abuse of authority.

These arrests were made at the request of the Public Ministry, in charge of Consuelo Porras, included in a

list of “corrupt” characters by the United States.

Former officials who worked in anti-mafia organizations in Guatemala described these arrests as “revenge” against those who fought against corruption.