1 May 2026
As part of celebrations of 200 years of bilateral relations between the Netherlands and Guatemala, Dutch ambassador for human rights, Wim Geerts visited Guatemala from March 25-27, 2026. This is Ambassador Geerts’ second visit to Guatemala, his first being in November 2023, when the democratic order was at risk of breaking down.
At that time, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, led by Attorney General Consuelo Porras, attempted to annul the election results through malicious legal actions, seeking to prevent the president-elect, Bernardo Arévalo, from taking office. Timely actions by Indigenous peoples, civil society, and the international community ensured the preservation of democracy, and in January 2024, President Arévalo was sworn in.
“Democracy, human rights, and international law are a priority in the Netherlands’ foreign policy. We believe that protecting the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society and fostering a strong and diverse civic space are essential for stability, prosperity, and inclusive and sustainable development.” –Ambassador Geerts, in a press release
During the visit, Ambassador Geerts met with President Bernardo Arévalo and other government officials, including Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda and Commissioner for Human Rights and Peace, Elvyn Díaz. He also met with civil society organizations, youth groups, independent judges, and representatives from the private sector, to underscore support for President Arévalo and civil society’s fight for democracy and the rule of law in the country.
Rejecting the criminalisation of human rights defenders
Since taking office in 2018, Attorney General Consuelo Porras had unleashed a wave of persecution and criminalisation against human rights defenders, journalists, former judges and anti-corruption prosecutors, and Indigenous leaders who defended democracy in 2023.
As a result of this persecution, more than 20 people have been arbitrarily detained and more than 100 have gone into exile.
For this reason, the European Union has sanctioned Attorney General Consuelo Porras and other justice officials who promote criminalisation, as well as the Foundation Against Terrorism, an association of radical former military that files malicious complaints and threatens human rights defenders, journalists, and Indigenous leaders on social media.
During the visit, Ambassador Geerts expressed concern about the situation of people being criminalised for their human rights work. He visited Indigenous leaders Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán in prison, and also met with lawyer Claudia González, who is also facing criminal charges for fighting corruption in Guatemala. The Embassy of the Netherlands in Central America posted a message stating that “defending democracy through peaceful demonstrations should not be grounds for persecution,” as an act of solidarity and to demonstrate the Netherlands’ commitment to human rights defenders.
Crucial elections in Guatemala to restore democracy underway
Ambassador Geerts’ visit comes at crucial moment for the future of democracy and justice in Guatemala. In the first months of this year, three important electoral processes have taken place: the election of the judges for the Electoral Tribunal, the election of judges for the Constitutional Court, and the election of the next attorney general.
The change of leadership in these institutions is key. In recent years, the justice system has been co-opted by corruption networks that have used the courts to obstruct criminal investigations of corruption and cases of organised crime.
These networks have further manipulated the justice system to arbitrarily persecute former justice officials, journalists, Indigenous leaders, and human rights defenders. These practices have been condemened by international human rights bodies, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, and the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite. They have all spoken out against the misuse of criminal law for political purposes to persecute human rights defenders, journalists, Indigenous leaders, and independent prosecutors and judges in Guatemala.
The process of selecting the Attorney General was underway during the Ambassador’s visit. It is hoped that the new Attorney General will be able to restrain the criminalisation of human rights defenders, resume the fight against corruption and organised crime, and restore public trust in the Public Prosecutor’s Office after eight years of institutional decline.
This visit takes on added significance in the context of authoritarianism and the expansion of organised crime observed in other countries in Central America. Guatemala remains a beacon of hope for the region due to the example of resistance and struggle of its Indigenous peoples and civil society in defense of democracy, justice, and peace. 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Accords that ended an internal armed conflict that devastated the country and left more than 200,000 victims, primarily Indigenous people.
The Netherlands and Member States of the European Union strongly supported the peace process and the democratisation of the country, and it is essential that this support continues at this crucial juncture.