GUATEMALA CITY — The Latest on the effort by Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales to expel the head of a U.N. anti-corruption agency (all times local):

Guatemala's chief prosecutor Thelma Aldana says she's giving unconditional support to the head of a U.N. anti-corruption commission who the president has ordered to leave the country.

Adana issued a statement late Sunday saying the Court's order suspending the president's expulsion order for Ivan Velasquez must be obeyed. She's worked closely with Velasquez.

President Jimmy Morales plunged the country into a crisis Sunday by standing firm on his order to remove Velasquez even after the court suspended the order.

Now Guatemalans will watch the courts closely to see what the definitive ruling is on Velasquez and whether Morales' immunity will be lifted as Aldana and Velasquez requested on Friday. </s> Guatemala’s constitutional court has ordered President Jimmy Morales to allow the head of a UN-backed anti-corruption commission to return to Guatemala, dealing a blunt rebuke to the leader who has sought in recent weeks to dismantle the body.

The unanimous ruling by the court’s five magistrates marked the second time in as many years that the court has reversed Morales’ efforts to keep commission chief Ivan Velasquez out of Guatemala. Velasquez has pressed a number of high-profile graft investigations, including one that is pending against the president himself.

There was no immediate public reaction from the president. His spokesman, Alfredo Brito, did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Morales announced in late August that he would not renew the mandate of the commission for another two-year term, effectively giving it a year to wind up its activities.

A few days later he said that Velasquez, a Colombian national who was in Washington at the time, would be barred from re-entering the country. Morales called him “a person who attacks order and public security”

Morales’ order touched off public protests in support of the body, and multiple appeals were promptly filed with the constitutional court. Issuing its decision on Sunday night, the court said its ruling must be obeyed and cannot be appealed.

Morales said earlier this month that he was “not obligated to obey illegal rulings,” which observers interpreted as a clear allusion to the court’s previous checks on his actions.

Last year, Morales had declared Velasquez persona non grata and tried to have him expelled from the country, but that move was also blocked by the constitutional court.

Among the investigations that the commission, known as Cicig for its initials in Spanish, has brought in Guatemala was one that led to the resignation and jailing of former President Otto Perez Molina and his vice president. Others have ensnared dozens of politicians, public officials and businesspeople.

Morales is suspected in a case involving more than $1m in purported illicit campaign financing. In August, Guatemala’s Supreme Court allowed a motion by Cicig and Guatemalan prosecutors seeking to lift the president’s immunity from prosecution to go to lawmakers. If they approve it, he would be opened up to possible prosecution.

Morales denies wrongdoing, but critics saw his move to wind down Cicig and bar Velasquez as a manoeuvre to protect himself as well as relatives and associates also in the sights of investigators. </s> Guatemala's Constitutional Court orders President Jimmy Morales to allow head of UN anti-graft body to re-enter country

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's Constitutional Court orders President Jimmy Morales to allow head of UN anti-graft body to re-enter country. </s> GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemala’s Constitutional Court orders President Jimmy Morales to allow head of UN anti-graft body to re-enter country.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's Constitutional Court orders President Jimmy Morales to allow head of UN anti-graft body to re-enter country. </s> GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced Sunday he is expelling the head of a U.N. anti-corruption commission that is investigating the president’s campaign financing.

A video posted on the government’s Twitter site showed Morales declaring Ivan Velasquez “non grata” and ordering him to leave the country immediately. He also announced he was firing Foreign Minister Carlos Raul Morales for failure to carry out the expulsion.

Velasquez heads a 10-year-old commission of experts that has worked with Guatemalan prosecutors to root out corruption in the country. It was key to bringing down former President Otto Perez Molina, who was forced to resign in 2015 and remains in prison.

Chief prosecutor Thelma Aldana, working with the U.N. commission, announced on Friday that she was asking the Supreme Court recommend stripping Morales of his immunity from prosecution in order to investigate financing of his 2015 campaign, when he ran on the slogan “Neither corrupt nor a crook.” If the court agrees, the decision on immunity would be made by Congress.

The prosecutor said Morales had refused to account for more than $800,000 in campaign financing and had hidden his own party’s accounts.

Some 2,500 people demonstrated in the capital on Saturday to demand Morales resign. </s> GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan government officials say they will defy a ruling by the country's top court and block the return of the man leading a U.N.-backed anti-corruption commission.

Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart says that commission chief Ivan Velasquez of Colombia won't be allowed to return to Guatemala. Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel and Attorney General Luis Donado joined him at Monday's announcement.

The Constitutional Court had ruled against President Jimmy Morales' effort to keep Velasquez out and made clear its unanimous decision late Sunday could not be appealed.

Morales announced in late August that he would not renew the mandate of the commission, whose corruption probes have helped put former presidents and other officials behind bars. Morales too is under investigation. </s> GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Guatemala’s Constitutional Court orders President Jimmy Morales to allow head of UN anti-graft body to re-enter country.

The Washington Times welcomes your comments on Spot.im, our third-party provider. Please read our The Washington Times welcomes your comments on Spot.im, our third-party provider. Please read our Comment Policy before commenting. </s> President Jimmy Morales announced Sunday that he was expelling the head of a U.N. anti-corruption commission that is investigating his campaign's financing — only to have the order quickly blocked by Guatemala's top court.

Morales' move also drew criticism from the international community, including the United States, and at least two protests sprang up in the capital to decry the order.

A video posted on the government's Twitter site early Sunday showed Morales declaring Ivan Velasquez "non grata" and ordering him to leave the country immediately. The president also announced he was firing Foreign Minister Carlos Raul Morales for failing to carry out the expulsion.

Morales said nothing of kicking out the entire commission of foreign experts, but the expulsion would leave its future unclear. The decade-old panel has worked with Guatemalan prosecutors to root out corruption and was key to bringing down former President Otto Perez Molina, who was forced to resign in 2015 and remains in prison.

Within hours, Francisco de Mata Vela, head of Guatemala's Constitutional Court, said that body had issued a temporary injunction blocking the order to expel Velasquez. The court will now analyze the case before reaching a definitive decision. It was not clear how long that would take.

Morales released another video at midafternoon affirming his decision to boot Velasquez. He said Velasquez overstepped his authority by improperly pressuring the country's legislative process and making public accusations against Guatemalans in spite of a presumption of innocence and guarantee of due process.

Chief prosecutor Thelma Aldana, working with the U.N. commission, announced Friday that she was asking the top court to recommend stripping Morales of his immunity from prosecution in order to investigate financing of his 2015 campaign, when he ran on the slogan, "Neither corrupt nor a crook." If the court agrees, the decision on immunity would be made by Congress.

The prosecutor said Morales had refused to account for more than $800,000 in campaign financing and had hidden his own party's accounts. Velasquez said at the joint news conference with Aldana that financing of some campaign expenditures could not be explained.

The embassies of international donor countries that support the U.N. commission — United States, Germany, Canada, Spain, France, Britain, Sweden and Switzerland as well as the European Union — issued a joint statement regretting Morales' decision.

The commission "has played a vital role in the fight against impunity and corruption that undermine security and prosperity in Guatemala. The decision to expel Commissioner Ivan Velasquez harms the ability of [the commission] to achieve its mandate," the statement said.

U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed disappointment in Morales' decision. In a statement, he said the U.S. government would examine the future of its foreign assistance to Guatemala.

Later Sunday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement that the U.S. was "deeply concerned" by Morales' decision. She said Velasquez has been an effective leader of the commission and "it remains crucial that [the commission] be permitted to work free from interference by the Guatemalan government."

Guatemala's human rights prosecutor, Jordan Rodas, joined in one of the demonstrations at which people shouted support for Velasquez. He also spent time with Velasquez to guarantee his safety and said Velasquez stressed that he continued to lead the commission.

"The commissioner was doing well and is very appreciative of the support," Rodas said.

Health Minister Lucrecia Hernandez Mack and her deputies resigned, saying that by expelling Velasquez, Morales had taken a position in favor of impunity and the corrupt sectors of the country.

The president's action Sunday capped days of speculation that Morales would move against Velasquez. The president traveled to the U.N. last week to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the government said topics included circumscribing the mandate of the anti-corruption commission led by Velasquez.

Mike Allison, a political science professor at the University of Scranton, said that by the time Morales arrived in New York, the international community had made clear Velasquez had its full backing. That left Morales in a difficult position of either waiting for the commission's investigation to proceed and potentially force him from office or be proactive and push Velasquez out, Allison said.

Allison said the commission and the prosecutors and investigators it has helped train represent Guatemala's best hope for a better future. "An attack upon them is an attack upon everyone in Guatemala who is fighting for a better country," he said.

In May, a Guatemalan judge ordered that the brother and son of Morales stand trial on fraud charges. They are accused of submitting about $23,000 of false receipts in a tax fraud scheme in 2013, before Morales took office. Both have maintained their innocence.

Perez Molina resigned along with his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, in 2015 and both remain jailed awaiting trial on corruption charges related to a huge customs fraud scheme.

They have also been investigated on charges of bribery and money laundering stemming from a criminal graft network. Prosecutors alleged that Perez Molina received about $37.9 million from companies in return for awarding construction contracts. He also is accused of accepting a helicopter, a sports car, a plane and other gifts.
The Constitutional Court suspends the order made by President Jimmy Morales to expel the U.N. anti-corruption commission head.