Guatemala’s president, Bernardo Arevalo, has named Gabriel Estuardo Garcia Luna as the country’s new attorney general, the president said in an address to the nation on Tuesday. Garcia, described by the administration as a former judge and university professor, currently serves as a criminal adviser to the top prosecutor’s office and will take up the post from May 17, Arevalo said.
The appointment comes after a pause in the selection process last month, when the Constitutional Court froze proceedings and ordered a review of the finalists. That intervention followed scrutiny of an initial shortlist in which current Attorney General Consuelo Porras was not included. A subsequent slate of candidates was then put to a vote by a committee of jurists and presented to the president, enabling him to make a selection.
Porras, who has been a prominent opponent of Arevalo, has faced sanctions from multiple foreign governments and institutions. The United States, Canada, the European Union and others have sanctioned Porras for alleged corruption, persecution of human rights advocates and efforts to undermine Arevalo’s 2023 election. Porras has publicly denied the accusations against her.
"This is a time to learn from our history. Justice has all too often been a tool of revenge. It is time to leave that past behind," Arevalo said, framing the appointment as the start of a "new chapter" and offering Garcia wishes of clarity and resolve as he prepares to assume the role.
In his remarks the president also outlined how he views the mandate of the attorney general. He said the office is required not to serve "the incumbent president or any particular or spurious political interests, but to serve an independent and impartial justice system dedicated to the people who make up the Guatemalan nation."
The process that produced Garcia’s name began with a shortlist that drew public and institutional attention because it omitted the sitting attorney general. The Constitutional Court’s order to freeze and review the finalists interrupted that initial process. Following the review, a committee of jurists approved a new list, which was delivered to the president, allowing him to proceed with a nomination.
The transition to a new attorney general, scheduled for May 17, follows a period of institutional contention and external sanctions directed at the outgoing attorney general. How the office will operate under Garcia, and how it will address the issues raised during the selection process, remains to be observed as he assumes his duties.