Guatemala to expel UN-backed anti-corruption body

The government of Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has said it is withdrawing from the UN-backed anti-corruption commission and is giving the body's staff 24 hours to leave the country.

Guatemalan Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel said on Monday that the UN body had 24 hours to leave the country.

She said Morales would continue the fight against corruption, but that there had been a misunderstanding about the investigations into his affairs.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Morales accused the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, commonly known as CICIG, of polarising the country and putting its security at risk, as well as violating human rights and being allied with criminal structures and "terrorists".

"The State of Guatemala terminates the agreement with CICIG because of the serious violation of national and international laws," Morales said in Guatemala City, adding that his government had waited 16 months for the UN to respond to their complaints.

"The CICIG has put at risk the sovereignty of the people of Guatemala," Morales said, accusing the UN of not "seeking solutions" to alleged violations.

The mandate of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) has helped prosecutors bring cases against dozens of senior officials and executives.

However, when Morales became the subject of its investigations, the president said he would review its mandate.

His comments were criticized and led to street protests against official corruption and demonstrations demanding his resignation.

Morales made the comments surrounded by the families of those he asserts are falsely accused by the CICIG, including a Russian family which was prosecuted and sentenced to seven years in prison for using a falsified Guatemalan passport.

During a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, Jovel announced that the CICIG mandate, a United Nations body created in 2006 and designed to strengthen the country's rule of law, would be ending.

Guterres responded in a statement, saying that he "strongly rejects" the decision, adding that the government must abide by the international deal.