Guatemalans demand president's resignation

Thousands of Guatemalans have taken to the streets in protest, lighting fires and blocking roads across the Central American country, to demand the resignation of President Alejandro Giammattei after the firing of a well-known anti-corruption prosecutor.

The protests have gained momentum since Guatemala's Attorney-General Maria Porras last week removed anti-graft fighter Juan Francisco Sandoval as head of the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity (FECI), a move that drew condemnation from Washington.

Sandoval, who fled Guatemala last weekend, said he was fired after the attorney-general prevented him from trying to investigate corruption cases with links to Giammattei. The president has denied being involved in corruption.

In Guatemala City on Thursday, a crowd of thousands of people marched from the presidential palace to the attorney-general's office holding signs that said "Giammattei, Resign."

Demonstrators set fire to tyres and threw paint over police deployed to protect government buildings.

"Today we are in front of the presidential palace but a president does not live here: a traitor does," said Samuel Perez, an opposition lawmaker who joined protesters.

By 5pm the protester numbers began to dwindle, while the remaining demonstrators were peacefully camped out in front of the National Palace of Culture, an imposing museum building that also houses some of the offices of the president.

The demonstrations in Guatemala City were part of a national strike called by indigenous leaders, social groups and student organisations to demand the resignations of Giammattei and Porras.

The latest protests highlight growing internal frustrations in Guatemala over corruption and the dismantling of judicial independence. In 2015, waves of such anti-corruption demonstrations brought about the downfall of then-president Otto Perez Molina.

On Thursday, across the impoverished nation of 17 million people, protesters blocked traffic at major intersections and marched with banners calling for the departure of the president, elected two years ago.

Sandoval also said he was investigating how unidentified businessmen from Russia had allegedly delivered bags of cash to the president in a meeting at his house, an event, he said, which was in some way linked to the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.

Giammattei this week strongly denied all the claims, and added that the allegations involving the businessmen were "false comments bordering on slander and defamation."

The United States, which strongly condemned Sandoval's dismissal, said on Tuesday it was pausing some cooperation with Guatemala's attorney-general, as it tries to apply pressure on Central American governments to end impunity.

US President Joe Biden's administration has made the fight against corruption a central plank of its strategy towards the region as it aims to address the root causes of illegal migration to the United States, which has increased this year.