Juan Francisco Sandoval, the top anti-graft investigator of Guatemala,
fled the country on Saturday to “safeguard his life,” hours after he
was sacked in a move that sparked international backlash, a human rights
official said.

Sandoval had been fired from his post as head of Guatemala’s
Prosecutor Against Corruption and Impunity (FECI) on Friday by Attorney General
Consuelo Porras.

Guatemalan Ombudsman Jordan Rodas accompanied Sandoval to
the Salvadoran border “in light of the difficult decision to leave the
country to safeguard his life and integrity due to recent events,”
according to the Central American country’s human rights body.

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Sandoval said he had encountered many obstacles in his work
at FECI and that he was told not to investigate President Alejandro Giammattei
without the attorney general’s consent, saying this request went “against
the autonomy and independence” of FECI.

The Attorney General’s Office said he had been let go due to
“constant abuses and frequent violations” of the institution and that
attempts had been made to “undermine” the “work, integrity and
dignity” of Porras.

FECI was initially created to work alongside the UN
International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to combat
corruption and impunity, but the body’s work was stopped in 2019 under a decision by then-president Jimmy Morales, after he was singled out by both
entities for electoral corruption.

Sandoval’s firing sparked criticism from the US State
Department, which has called him an “anti-corruption champion”, as
well as an outcry from humanitarian groups, civil society, and businesses.

Acting Assistant Secretary for the US State Department’s
Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Julie Chung, condemned Sandoval’s sacking
in a tweet on Friday, saying it “is a significant setback to rule of
law.”

The Center against Corruption and Impunity in the North of
Central America (CCINOC) also hit out at Porras’ decision, saying it would
create “setbacks in the fight against corruption in the region.”