Crushing the Seeds: Guatemala’s Indigenous Leader Arrested

Guatemalan police on Wednesday arrested Luis Pacheco, the country’s deputy energy minister and an Indigenous leader, who the attorney general has accused of terrorism and illicit association, a move that opponents say is in retaliation for his support for the president, Reuters reported. 

Pacheco, a member of the K’iche community, led an Indigenous group, Los 48 Cantones de Totonicapán, in nationwide protests in October 2023 to support the transition to power of the then President-elect Bernardo Arévalo and push for the resignation of the country’s attorney general, María Consuelo Porras, according to the Associated Press. 

The demonstrations were to ensure that Arévalo could actually take office after his landslide victory in August that year: He was continually being blocked by Porras, who relentlessly initiated investigations into the election and members of his Movimiento Semilla (Seed Movement) to prevent his inauguration. Party members, for example, were accused of unlawfully gathering the required number of signatures to form the party, an accusation analysts call baseless and politically motivated. 

The US government has sanctioned Porras for obstructing corruption investigations. 

Arévalo, a little-known former Guatemalan diplomat, won a shock victory against the establishment candidate, former first lady Sandra Torres. Since then, the powerful political, military, criminal, and business groups, along with corrupt judges, prosecutors, and the attorney general – collectively known as Pacto de Corruptos (the Corrupt Pact) – that have long controlled the country, have done everything they can to stymie him and his administration.  

Meanwhile, Arévalo called the arrest of Pacheco baseless and a “cruel blow” to the people of Guatemala. Pacheco also denied the accusation, saying, “I have done nothing wrong.” Meanwhile, Pacheco’s legal representatives have not been allowed contact with him since his arrest. 

Hector Chaclan, former treasurer of the Indigenous group, was also detained.