EU Sanctions Guatemalan Foundation, People for Unjust Persecution

The Council of the European Union last week sanctioned three people and one entity for undermining democracy and the rule of law in Guatemala. The designations target the Foundation Against Terrorism, its president, Ricardo Rafael Mendez Ruiz Valdes, and its legal representative, Raul Amilcar Falla Ovalle, for their involvement in the persecution and intimidation of the media, lawyers, judges and prosecutors. The council said the newly sanctioned have begun criminal investigations against "justice operators, journalists and representatives of the government, and engaged in the intimidation of civil society and the judiciary."