Former anti-corruption prosecutor arrested in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY : Guatemalan police arrested a former top prosecutor on Friday, accusing him of abusing his authority for investigating corruption allegations against an ex-president of the Central American country.

Stuardo Campo is the latest among a growing number of former prosecutors, judges and officials who have been jailed or forced into exile in recent years.

Campo said his arrest stemmed from accusations filed by the Anti-Terrorism Foundation, a far-right organization which has targeted politicians, activists and journalists over the past year.

"This is a spurious complaint," Campo told reporters as police were taking him to appear in court. "It's totally false."

In 2021, Campo was removed as the country's chief anti-corruption prosecutor and transferred to the anti-human smuggling department of the Public Prosecutor's Office. Campo had requested that former President Jimmy Morales be stripped of his legal immunity to enable a probe into his alleged ties to a US$64 million fraud case.

During current President Alejandro Giammattei's administration, more than two dozen prosecutors and judges have gone into exile after threats related to their work as part of a United Nations-backed anti-corruption commission that is now defunct.

(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Richard Chang)