Judge and academic Gabriel Estuardo García Luna was appointed by President Bernardo Arévalo to replace Consuelo Porras, whose administration was marked by allegations of corruption and strong international questions. Among its main challenges will be recovering the credibility of the Public Ministry, guaranteeing judicial independence and responding to claims to stop the persecution against journalists, activists and former prosecutors.
First modification: 05/06/2026 - 18:29 Last modification: 05/06/2026 - 18:38
Lawyer Gabriel Estuardo García Luna was appointed this Tuesday as the new attorney general and head of the Public Ministry of Guatemala, replacing Consuelo Porras Argueta, whose management was marked by allegations of corruption and international questions.
The appointment was announced by the Guatemalan president, Bernardo Arévalo, and the new head of the Public Ministry will take office on May 17 for the period 2026-2030.
"This is a moment to learn from our history. Too often, justice has been used as a tool of revenge. It is time to leave that past behind," said Arévalo, who celebrated the beginning of "a new chapter" and wished García Luna clarity and determination as he takes office.
The president also maintained that the attorney general should not serve "the president in office or particular or spurious political interests," but rather "an independent and impartial justice system dedicated to the people that make up the Guatemalan nation."
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Read alsoGuatemala: the era of the questioned prosecutor Consuelo Porras ends, but her shadow remains latent
Long experience in the Judiciary
García Luna has a career of almost three decades within the Guatemalan judicial system.
He began his career in 1997 in various administrative positions in the Judicial Branch and later served as a justice of the peace, a trial judge and a courtroom magistrate in the criminal field.
He graduated from the Rafael Landívar University and obtained a doctorate in Law from the University of San Carlos. In addition to his judicial career, he taught university teaching and worked as an instructor at the School of Judicial Studies on topics related to Criminal Law.
Her arrival at the Public Ministry marks the close of the eight years of management of Consuelo Porras, sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for alleged acts of corruption and for actions that, according to those governments, sought to weaken the democratic process after the 2023 elections won by Arévalo.
Porras, 72 years old, was left out of the final list of candidates prepared by the commission in charge of the selection process for the new attorney general. In any case, Arévalo had already publicly ruled out his continuity, considering that he represented a “dangerous” risk for the country.
During the selection process, García Luna tried to show himself as a technical and independent profile, in the midst of strong international attention on the election of the new attorney general.
Before the Nomination Commission, he stated that the Public Ministry must act “without external interference” and oriented toward the search for “material truth.”
Read alsoThe Guatemalan prosecutor sanctioned by the US suffers a new setback in her re-election plan
What are your proposals?
Among its proposals is promoting a criminal prosecution policy based on criminal analysis and modifying the scheme applied during the previous administration, criticized for prioritizing the statistical closure of files before the effective resolution of cases.
During the interview stage, García Luna also presented a proposal for restructuring the Public Ministry that aims to improve the investigation results and the operational capacity of the institution.
Among its main axes, it will focus on the importance of prioritizing resources for criminal investigation, as well as advancing the technological modernization of the agency and strengthening the permanent training of personnel.
He also committed to implementing evaluation and meritocracy mechanisms within the Public Ministry, in addition to promoting multidisciplinary teams to address complex investigations.
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Questions and challenges
García Luna's career has also received questions.
As president of the Judicial Disciplinary Board, he was criticized by social sectors due to the sanction considered light against Judge Rocío Murillo, linked to irregularities prior to the fire of a state home that occurred in 2017, where 41 girls died.
García Luna's main challenge will be to recover the credibility and autonomy of the Public Ministry, in a context marked by demands to end the judicial persecution against former prosecutors, journalists, activists and human rights defenders.
Read alsoJudges of the Supreme Court of Guatemala take office after questioned selection process
With EFE, Reuters, AFP and local media
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