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Guatemalan police arrested the country’s prosecutor on Friday for crimes against migrants, accusing him of alleged abuse of authority.
Tuardo Campos was formerly the country’s anti-corruption prosecutor during the administration of former President Jimmy Morales. It was not immediately clear whether the allegations related to his current position or a former one.
The complaint against Campos was made by the far-right Foundation Against Terrorism, a group that began defending military officers accused of war crimes, but also targeted members of the justice system working on corruption cases.
“This complaint is fake,” said Campos. “I know that my work as an anti-corruption prosecutor has earned me enmity in many quarters.”
Campos was known for his investigations related to a government highway project during the Morales administration. Several officials of that administration were arrested after repeated landslides and other problems were blamed on poor construction.
In recent years, several prosecutors and judges handling anti-corruption cases have been investigated and charged. Many of them have fled the country to avoid prosecution by the Attorney General’s Office of the United States government and others have alleged retribution against members of the justice system.
Most recently, as chief prosecutor for migrant crimes, Campos was credited with dismantling migrant smuggling rings and oversaw Guatemala’s first extradition to the US of a migrant accused.
