Guatemalan anti-graft judge resigns, blasts manipulation of justice

Galvez said he left Guatemala earlier this month with plans to attend a regional judges association in Costa Rica this week. He could not immediately be reached for further comment. Neither Giammattei's office nor the justice ministry immediately responded to a request for comment on the judge's resignation.

A well-known anti-corruption judge in Guatemala resigned on Tuesday after accusing the judiciary of mismanagement, the latest in a string of resignations that critics blame on President Alejandro Giammattei's efforts to consolidate power. Miguel Angel Galvez, a judge with two dozen years on the bench focused largely on corruption, organized crime and civil war cases, blasted what he described as a lack of judicial independence in a video posted in his Twitter account.

The judiciary is "manipulated," he said, and it no longer guarantees due process rights. Since May, Galvez has faced accusations from the Foundation against Terrorism, an organization composed of retired military officers, that he has abused his authority. The case is currently before the Supreme Court, which last month ordered the investigating judge to refrain from considering any more defense arguments from Galvez.

Galvez's resignation comes as a growing number of Guatemala's anti-corruption judges and prosecutors have been jailed or forced into exile during Giammattei's term, which has drawn pointed rebukes from the United States, among a growing chorus of critics. Galvez said he left Guatemala earlier this month with plans to attend a regional judges association in Costa Rica this week.

He could not immediately be reached for further comment. Neither Giammattei's office nor the justice ministry immediately responded to a request for comment on the judge's resignation.

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