Guatemalan authorities conducted a raid on the offices of the NGO Save the Children following complaints regarding the treatment of Guatemalan children in Texas shelters. The raid was carried out by authorities from the Special Public Prosecutor against Impunity and the Civil Police after an investigation was initiated to probe into the treatment of migrant children in Texas shelters.
The Public Prosecutor's Office received a complaint highlighting incidents of Guatemalan children and teenagers facing vulnerabilities in shelters in Texas, allegedly connected to a network involving NGOs operating in the United States and Guatemala. The raid aimed to gather information for the ongoing investigation and involved document searches and seizures.
Authorities in Guatemala sought assistance from the Texas Attorney General's Office as some of the shelters under scrutiny are located in Texas. Save the Children, a British organization known for its work in disaster and humanitarian crises, stated that it had not received any specific accusations and lacked evidence to support claims of improper conduct. The organization emphasized that it does not facilitate the transfer of children or teenagers out of Guatemala.
The Guatemalan Prosecutor for Impunity described the case as transnational and involving multiple organizations. The prosecutor, Rafael Curruchiche, has faced sanctions from the European Council for actions undermining democracy and the rule of law in Guatemala.
Guatemala's current President, Bernardo Arévalo, who won the election last year on an anti-corruption platform, has faced challenges in empowering the judiciary due to resistance from the Guatemalan prosecutor's office led by US-sanctioned Attorney General Consuelo Porras. The Attorney General's office in Guatemala has not responded to requests for comments on the accusations.
