Guatemala
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- parliamentary democratic republic
- CONSTITUTION
- January 14, 1986, suspended in 1993, reintroduced and amended in November 2003
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- civil rights; judicial review of legislative acts
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la República)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court of Justice, Constitutional Court
RELIGIONS
Catholics, Protestants, indigenous Maya beliefs
From the country
- NOVEMBER 27, 2000GuatemalaDEATH PENALTY
The UN Committee against torture cited concern over...
The UN Committee against torture cited concern over what it called a deterioration of the human rights situation in Guatemala, including matters involving torture
- SEPTEMBER 1, 2000GuatemalaDEATH PENALTY
Carlos Chun Choc, Douglas Montt Solorzano and Gustavo...
Carlos Chun Choc, Douglas Montt Solorzano and Gustavo Carranza were sentenced to death by lethal injection for kidnapping and killing two businessmen and a 17-year-old university student in 1996 and 1997
- JULY 18, 2000GuatemalaDEATH PENALTY
A poll conducted by a local newspaper indicated that...
A poll conducted by a local newspaper indicated that 80% of Guatemalans agree with the death penalty - which is also strongly supported by the main business organisations
- JUNE 29, 2000GuatemalaDEATH PENALTY
Two convicted kidnappers were put to death by lethal...
Two convicted kidnappers were put to death by lethal injection at the Pavon prison in an execution shown live on Guatemalan television
- JUNE 1, 2000GuatemalaDEATH PENALTY
President Alfonso Portillo granted clemency to an illiterate...
President Alfonso Portillo granted clemency to an illiterate Kekchi-speaking peasant farmer, Pedro Rax Cucul, who had been sentenced to death for a 1996 murder
- MARCH 4, 2000GuatemalaDEATH PENALTY
Arango Escobar, Guatemalan Ombudsman for Human Rights...
Arango Escobar, Guatemalan Ombudsman for Human Rights announced that the Guatemalan Consul in Belize had taken steps to allow 61 Guatemalan prisoners, some of whom on death row, held in the Central de Hatyville prison in Belize to be deported back to Guat
- FEBRUARY 2, 2000GuatemalaDEATH PENALTY
Three former Guatemalan paramilitary men on massacre...
Three former Guatemalan paramilitary men on massacre charges had their death penalty commuted to 50 years imprisonment for lack of direct evidence