Ligia Iveth Hernández Gómez, former deputy of the Semilla Movement and current director of the Victims’ Institute, was arrested on Tuesday, August 13, having been linked by the Public Ministry (MP) in the case called Semilla Corruption, judicial sources reported.
Sources from the MP confirmed the arrest of Hernández in the Semilla case. The arrest warrant was issued for the possible commission of the crime of unregistered electoral financing.
Prior to his arrest, Hernández confirmed on his X account the existence of an arrest warrant and accused the MP of committing injustices.
“Today a new injustice is being committed at the hands of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. As part of the so-called Seed Corruption case, they have issued an arrest warrant against me and as much as they want to criminalize me, I am not afraid of them,” Hernández said on X.
In the same message, Hernandez points out: “This desperate attack represents nothing more than a perverse desire to silence, oppress and extinguish all attempts to recover our country, which has been captured by a small group of criminals who refuse to give up a power that no longer belongs to them.”
“How many more honest people have to be persecuted, imprisoned, forced into exile before we realize that enough is enough? The answer is clear: either the Public Prosecutor’s Office wins or Guatemala wins,” Hernandez said.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office indicated that as a result of the investigation by the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (Feci) in the Semilla Corruption case, the Seventh Multi-Personal Court of First Instance for Criminal Matters, Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Environment decided to issue an arrest warrant against Hernández.
He added that Hernández was arrested within the framework of an investigation based on a report from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal regarding the 2019 electoral process and within the investigation of the Seed Corruption Phase 2 case.
“The judicial process will continue its course in accordance with the established legal procedures and, since the case is under judicial reserve, the progress of the investigation will be made known at the appropriate procedural time,” the MP said in a statement.
In the Semilla Corruption Case, three people have been sentenced through the special procedure of acceptance of charges by accepting their responsibility in the commission of crimes.
During the hearing on charges, it was determined that his first statement hearing will be on Wednesday, August 14, between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., reported the judge on duty, Carol Flores.
Hernández will spend the night in the cells of the Court Tower awaiting an appointment and time for his first statement hearing.
Government condemns arrest
Regarding Hernández’s capture, the Guatemalan government said in a statement that “a persecution against elected officials and officials of this government has been reactivated.”
“The attack by the corrupt minority against Ligia Hernández only demonstrates what the entire people of Guatemala already know, and what many international organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have warned about: that anti-democratic actors entrenched in the Public Ministry seek to attack democratic institutions and affect national security,” the letter adds.
The statement added that they condemn such actions and assure that Hernández will be supported, who “bravely faces charges of spurious cases, under confidential investigations without adherence to our laws.”
“The investigations by the FECI and the actions of Judge Orellana have no credibility and for this reason, we are certain of his innocence and that of any other defendant in the cases that these agencies are bringing forward,” the statement said.
Seed Corruption Case
In December 2023, the MP revealed the Seed Corruption case that arose from apparent illegal adhesions to the party.
On that occasion, the MP explained that the investigation began with a complaint from a citizen, who said he wanted to join a party of his choice, but the TSE told him that he was affiliated with another party, and upon consulting the police he realized that he was affiliated with Semilla without having signed the membership form.
It was reported that on March 14, 2023, the then presidential candidate of the Semilla Movement, Bernardo Arévalo, upon learning that the political party “had been discovered,” filed a complaint against Jaime Gudiel Arias.
In addition, it was said that he attached a document to his complaint as a mass adhesion contract. The MP pointed out that Semilla paid Q7 per signature collected.
The Prosecutor’s Office pointed out the crimes of continued use of a falsified document with electoral aggravation, failure to report, disobedience and obstruction of justice
On that same date, the MP added that, among the illegalities found for summary purposes, 5,542 people do not exist in the subject of affiliation to Semilla, 2,394 people’s name does not match the registered Personal Identification Document, 40 people were affiliated to the political party and are already deceased.
In addition, according to the MP, 13 people have declared that they never signed the adhesion forms and there are 132 repeated adhesions.
The prosecutor said that the total number of illegalities found in the adhesion amounted to 8,121 illegalities.
He said that the Movimiento Semilla party never came into legal existence due to alleged anomalies, which is why the legal personality of the group was suspended.
The MP also submitted a request to remove the immunity of deputies Samuel Pérez and Ligia Hernández due to findings on financial reports of the Movimiento Semilla party.
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