The United States on Thursday added a Guatemalan prosecutor and judge targeting president-elect Bernardo Arevalo to a corruption blacklist, making them ineligible for US visas.

Despite a fierce campaign from Guatemala's ruling class to block Bernardo Arevalo from taking office, the president-elect told AFP he is confident he will be sworn in next month, vowing to rule "without fear."

Bernardo Arevalo is currently struggling to deal with legal challenges before taking over the office on Jan. 14.

Guatemala is going through a democratic crisis, with the current administration trying to block President-elect Bernardo Arévalo from taking over the office next month.

The Public Prosecutor's Office ratcheted up a battle with incoming president-elect Bernardo Arevalo on Thursday, calling on the Supreme Court to strip him of immunity for damages resulting from a 2022 protest at a university.

The news of the suspension came as the country was waiting for 64-year-old Bernardo Arévalo to take over the office in January.

Brian A Nichols will be meeting president-elect Bernardo Arévalo and Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Búcaro to talk about the controversial presidential transition process.

Mexico's foreign affairs secretary said in the last month alone, 60,000 Venezuelan, 35,000 Guatemalan, and 27,000 Honduran migrants reached the country.

Byron René Bor Illescas, a retired brigadier general, will take over Barrientos' position, the government announced Tuesday.

Victor Gomez, a spokesman for the volunteer firemen in Malacatan, said it was unclear whether the victims were protestors or just regular people near the protest

A spokesperson for the prosecutors' office said that the "attorney general will not resign her post."

A brood of chickens cluck in the barn as Rebeca Perez collects eggs to sell in her village in western Guatemala -- an endeavor she hopes will keep her from emigrating to the United States as her brothers did, driven by poverty.

OAS chief Luis Almagro said Guatemalan Attorney General's Office's ongoing investigation on Arevalo and the electoral authority was an attack on the South American country's democracy.

In the video that surfaced on social media, Attorney General María Consuelo Porras said, "I want to express my complete disagreement and distaste," adding that the protesters "clearly violate the rights of all Guatemalans."

Groups including those of rural farmers, teachers and students have gone out on the streets to demand the resignation of Attorney General María Consuelo Porras and one of her top prosecutors, Rafael Curruchiche.

Visiting Washington on Tuesday, President-elect Bernardo Arevalo of Guatemala said he is confronting a concerted effort to keep him from taking power after his upset election win.

Indigenous Protesters blocked roads, borders and ports on Oct. 2, 2023, demanding the resignation of multiple Guatemalan government officials.

Alongside the government workers, 800 combined force of soldiers including National Guard officers and police officers has also been sent to the location.

According to the Guatemalan Chamber of Construction and the ANACOVI builders' association, Guatemala's poverty rate is 59 percent and the country has a housing deficit of about 2 million units.

After a campaign marked by concerns of meddling, Arévalo won the August 20 vote, but a branch of the electoral tribunal suspended his Semilla Movement.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has said Bernardo Arévalo and his deputy Karin Herrera "are being subjected to stigmatization, harassment, hounding, public disclosure of personal details on social media, and threats including two specific plans to hurt them and even kill them."

Claudia González is known for advocating accountability for those involved in government misconduct and organized crime.

The move is unlikely to impact Bernardo Arevalo's swearing in as president on January 14 but unless resolved it could limit his party's ability to preside over committees in Congress.

Arevalo won the presidential election on Sunday with 59%, trouncing his rival Sandra Torres who came second with 36%, according to official results from the election body, after 95% of votes were counted.

This decision came in response to widespread international condemnation, which expressed concerns about the country's democratic integrity.

The first-round results faced challenges from nine parties, including UNE, who alleged voter manipulation.

Sandra Torres, the former first lady and a National Unity of Hope (UNE) party member, is favored to win the first round of the election.

Santos-Zacaria fled to the U.S. after being threatened with death and sexually assaulted as a young teen in a nation that has targeted the LGBTQ+ population.

Numerous new avenues for legal immigration will be opened, and regional centers will handle hundreds of claims each month.

The Guatemalan government announced that they will be pursuing charges against Colombian Defense Minister Iván Velásquez for his role in the U.N.-backed anti-corruption mission.