In Guatemala, it can be easy to let the trees hide the forest. They include convoluted legal procedures, ever-fracturing and multiplying political parties, baseless criminal accusations, and the labyrinthine connections between politicians.

The big picture, however, is this: the same actors who tried to prevent President Bernardo Arévalo from taking office in 2023 are ramping up efforts to oust him. The risk to democracy and human rights in Guatemala needs to be taken seriously. Attorney General Consuelo Porras has already asked the Supreme Court more than 10 times to lift Arévalo’s presidential immunity, so that he can be investigated in Congress for a range of alleged crimes. Such steps would be taken as signs of a healthy democratic system if they were based on good-faith concerns that the president had engaged in corruption or abuse of power. Unfortunately, Porras’ investigations are based on spurious, politically motivated allegations. The attorney general has also gone after officials in Arévalo’s government, as well as people who have been pushing for democratic reforms. In April, prosecutors secured the arrest of two Indigenous leaders, Hector Chaclán and Luis Pacheco, who was also Arévalo’s deputy minister of sustainable development. They are accused of “terrorism” and “sedition” in connection with their participation in the peaceful 2023 protests that helped stop Porras’ attempt to overturn the elections.

The timing is critical. Next year, Guatemalan authorities are scheduled to elect a new attorney general and new members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and Constitutional Court. The president and Congress play an important role in these processes and the appointments are critical to hopes of progress in bolstering the rule of law. The European Union has expressed its “deep concern” about the “misuse of legal and procedural measures targeting elected officials” in Guatemala. Latin American governments, which played an important role in protecting democracy in 2023, should also speak up and make sure that the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) follows the situation in Guatemala closely.

When he visited Guatemala in February, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised President Arévalo’s “commitment to maintain and defend democracy and the stability of institutions.” He also warned that “businesses are not going to invest in a country where there is a coup.”

Yet the State Department and the Trump administration have since said nothing. This silence risks being interpreted as disinterest or even tacit acceptance of the very threats Rubio was alluding to. If a commitment to democracy in Guatemala isn’t enough to persuade the U.S. government to oppose efforts to undermine it, its own interests certainly should. Ousting Arévalo would most likely bring about instability in Guatemala that could trigger new waves of migration despite the current difficulty of even crossing the U.S. border.

Arévalo has been a close U.S. ally. Officials trying to oust him may well be offering similar support to Washington, on issues ranging from migration to China. But there’s something they cannot credibly deliver: dismantling organized crime.

Fighting organized crime requires cracking down on corrupt practices that allow cartels and gangs to bribe their way through the country, operating brazenly and with impunity. This is an important part of Arévalo’s agenda—and precisely why many want him out. His administration has achieved some notable arrests, including of the leader of Los Huistas, whose extradition the U.S. embassy in Guatemala has been described as “the most important in decades.”

In addition to expressing concern, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union, which have imposed targeted sanctions against Attorney General Porras and other officials, should maintain and consider expanding these sanctions to other officials responsible for violating human rights and undermining the rule of law.

President Arévalo should also act. Guatemalan law doesn’t allow him to unilaterally dismiss the attorney general. But there’s more he can do to protect fundamental rights and democratic institutions. He should push to investigate allegations of corruption behind court rulings and consider invoking a constitutional provision that allows officials to dismiss orders, such as arrest warrants, that are “manifestly illegal or that imply the commission of a crime.”

His government also needs to prepare a strategy for the appointment of a new attorney general next year. Under Porras, politically motivated prosecutions have thrived while fewer than nine percent of criminal investigations have led to an indictment. Appointing a truly independent attorney general could help address long-standing impunity, bolster the fight against organized crime, and help rebuild the rule of law.

Critically, President Arévalo should also act to show Guatemalans that the democracy many of them defended in 2023 can deliver. His government should speed up the implementation of its health, education and infrastructure projects that could help provide much needed development in rural areas in Guatemala where mostly Indigenous people are deprived of their economic rights. Introducing a water law that helps guarantee the human rights to water and sanitation would be a critical first step.

Guatemala still has an opportunity to lay the groundwork for the change – the reconstruction of rule of law, the dismantling of organized crime, and the creation of a more inclusive economy – that Guatemalans urgently need. We cannot afford to let it slip away.

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At least 24 U.S. cities on Wednesday joined the protests against Donald Trump’s immigration policy, in a wave of pushback that began last Friday in Los Angeles. New protests have been called throughout California, and from coast to coast, from Las Vegas and Seattle to New York and Austin. Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets this week to challenge the U.S. government’s campaign of mass detentions and deportations, a prelude to the protests planned for this Saturday. On that day, President Trump will celebrate his birthday with a military parade in the capital, which will be met with hundreds of demonstrations across the country.

Protests in solidarity with L.A. have been spreading to other locations since the weekend, but on Tuesday they intensified and grew in size. In New York City, thousands of people gathered in Lower Manhattan, home to several federal immigration agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the main focus of protesters’ anger. The protest continued with a peaceful march through the area, but clashes broke out between authorities and a group that remained near the ICE offices. Police arrested dozens of people, pushing and knocking some protesters to the ground, and using pepper spray.

Clashes also broke out in Atlanta, Georgia, where hundreds of people had gathered to protest Tuesday night. According to authorities, six people were arrested after the protest ran past the scheduled time. Officers used chemicals and physical force to disperse the crowd, and some protesters hurled fireworks and rocks. And in Chicago, Illinois, after thousands of people marched through the city streets, some protesters threw water bottles at the police.

Hundreds of people have been arrested across the country since the protests erupted. Most of the arrests have taken place in California, particularly in Los Angeles, where protests entered their sixth day Wednesday amid a heavy military presence and a curfew declared by local authorities. More than 330 people have been arrested in the country’s second-most populated city. Another 240 have been arrested in San Francisco, where protesters forced the closure of two immigration courts on Tuesday.

Some organizers fear that Trump could deploy National Guard troops or Marines to other cities, as he has already done in Los Angeles. The president has said that the military deployment in California could be “the first of many” in different states. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican and staunch ally of President Trump, especially on immigration issues, has announced that he will deploy the National Guard to his territory “to ensure peace and order,” after several protesters clashed with authorities in a few cities in the southern state, leading to dozens of arrests.

In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat but also an ally of Trump on his immigration agenda, has said he does not anticipate a military deployment and has assured that the New York Police Department, due to its size and experience, are prepared to deal with the protests. He has warned, however, that he will not tolerate a repeat of the violence seen in Los Angeles on the streets of the Big Apple. New York, like the California metropolis, is one of the so-called sanctuary cities, which do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Most of the actions planned for this Saturday had been called before the protests erupted in Los Angeles to coincide with the president’s birthday and his military parade. But now the pro-immigrant demonstrations are expected to overlap with those on June 14, giving rise to a massive protest movement, perhaps the largest since Trump took office five months ago.

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MIJAS Town Hall has approved plans for a major donkey sanctuary spanning over 10,000 square metres as part of a €15.1 million infrastructure spending package.

The council has allocated €80,000 for the design of the recreational park, which will house the town’s famous donkeys in more spacious stables with dedicated recreational areas. 

The facility will allow public visits while the animals roam in semi-free conditions.

The project aims to establish Mijas as a breeding centre and will be fully integrated into the landscape, designed to improve the animals’ quality of life whilst maintaining their role as a tourist attraction.

READ MORE: Renewed calls to end ‘emaciated and ill’ donkey taxis in Costa del Sol tourist town after new images emerge

The sanctuary plan comes amid ongoing controversy over Mijas’s donkey taxis, which have faced years of criticism from animal welfare activists. 

Last summer, several donkeys were reported to have collapsed due to heat exhaustion, leading to renewed calls to end the practice and new rules limiting operating times during weather warnings. 

The donkey taxis have been particularly controversial for forcing the animals to work in extreme summer temperatures whilst carrying tourists around the hilltop town.

The donkey sanctuary forms part of a broader €15.1 million budget modification approved by the council, with €5.87 million specifically designated for infrastructure projects. 

READ MORE: New protections for the Costa del Sol’s controversial ‘donkey taxis’ after ‘several collapsed from the heat’ last summer

The spending package was approved despite opposition from the Socialist PSOE and Ciudadanos parties.

Housing features prominently in the investment plan, with €150,000 allocated for designing 40 public housing units on the El Maro site covering 5,731 square metres. 

The development represents the largest public housing project in the municipality for two decades.

The council is also addressing parking shortages with plans for underground car parks in La Vega (€150,000), Las Cañadas (€150,000), and La Cala boulevard (€200,000), plus surface parking near the hippodrome (€33,000).

READ MORE: Exclusive: PETA enters Mijas donkey taxi row: Global animal rights group offers mayor an electric tuk-tuk ‘in exchange for banning the trade’

Nearly 30 street renovation projects are planned across the municipality, including comprehensive upgrades to roads such as Ciprés, Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Cártama, and Segovia. 

Major infrastructure improvements include widening the A-7053 between Venta La Morena and the Mijas Golf roundabout.

Sports facilities will receive €150,000 for repairing the La Cala sports pavilion roof, with additional funds for football facility improvements in Las Lagunas and Osunillas. 

The Las Lagunas pensioners’ centre will also receive €80,000 for upgrades.