A UN official leading anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala said Thursday he would press on with his task after an expulsion order against him by President Jimmy Morales was scrapped by the country's top court.
"We will continue our activities and functions to fully carry out our mandate as we have been doing up to now," Ivan Velasquez, a former Colombian judge heading the International Committee Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), said in a statement.
His affirmation came two days after Guatemala's Constitutional Court permanently suspended the order by Morales declaring him persona non grata for his investigation of the president on corruption allegations.
Morales had accused Velasquez of meddling in domestic matters and provoking a political crisis with his probe.
But the expulsion order, issued Sunday then temporarily stayed within hours by the court, drew intense criticism within the country and internationally.
With Morales unable to appeal the permanent suspension of his order, the CICIG can now pursue its investigation into Morales on suspicion he failed to declare around $1 million in electoral campaign funding to his party, the National Convergence Front, for his successful 2015 presidential bid.
Velasquez and Guatemalan prosecutors last week applied to strip Morales of his immunity so the probe can go ahead.
In his statement, the UN official said he stressed, "once more, his commitment and determination in the fight against corruption and impunity in Guatemala."
He thanked individuals, associations, institutions and international organizations that supported him and his CICIG work in the days after Morales gave his expulsion order.
Morales has not yet publicly commented on his setback at the hands of the Constitutional Court.
His spokesman, Heinz Heimman, told AFP the president respected the ruling, but added it was up to Morales to decide if he would try to have Velasquez removed through other means.
A UN official leading anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala said Thursday he would press on with his task after an expulsion order against him by President Jimmy Morales was scrapped by the country’s top court.
“We will continue our activities and functions to fully carry out our mandate as we have been doing up to now,” Ivan Velasquez, a former Colombian judge heading the International Committee Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), said in a statement.
His affirmation came two days after Guatemala’s Constitutional Court permanently suspended the order by Morales declaring him persona non grata for his investigation of the president on corruption allegations.
Morales had accused Velasquez of meddling in domestic matters and provoking a political crisis with his probe.
But the expulsion order, issued Sunday then temporarily stayed within hours by the court, drew intense criticism within the country and internationally.
With Morales unable to appeal the permanent suspension of his order, the CICIG can now pursue its investigation into Morales on suspicion he failed to declare around $1 million in electoral campaign funding to his party, the National Convergence Front, for his successful 2015 presidential bid.
Velasquez and Guatemalan prosecutors last week applied to strip Morales of his immunity so the probe can go ahead.
In his statement, the UN official said he stressed, “once more, his commitment and determination in the fight against corruption and impunity in Guatemala.”
He thanked individuals, associations, institutions and international organizations that supported him and his CICIG work in the days after Morales gave his expulsion order.
Morales has not yet publicly commented on his setback at the hands of the Constitutional Court.
His spokesman, Heinz Heimman, told AFP the president respected the ruling, but added it was up to Morales to decide if he would try to have Velasquez removed through other means.
