Guatemala Charges Ex-Minister Over Vaccine Deal

The government of Guatemala criminally denounced a former Minister of Health for the controversial purchase of Russian anti-Covid vaccines in 2021 during the administration of President Alejandro Giammattei, who faced criticism of possible corruption for the acquisition.

The complaint was filed in a court in the capital against former minister Amelia Flores, who signed a confidential contract with the company Human Vaccine, a subsidiary of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF),Julio Saavedra, the attorney general (state lawyer) said at a press conference.

The official specified that Guatemala paid almost 80 million dollars for the purchase of eight million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine and gave almost 800,000 dollars as an advance payment.

The former official was denounced for the alleged crimes of abuse of authority, breach of duties and embezzlement of funds and "reveals a corrupt, opaque contracting that must be investigated," said Saavedra.

"In difficult and bitter times like the covid pandemic, where the entire Guatemalan society was under the siege of a terrible disease that we did not know and that we did not understand, the corrupt in Guatemala saw the opportunity to benefit with impunity," said President Bernardo.

The original order for Russian vaccines was for 16 million doses, but Giammattei's government and the selling firm agreed that only half of the order would be fulfilled due to the delay in deliveries that provoked harsh criticism and even accusations of corruption against Giammattei.

Flores resigned in September 2021 after more than a year in the position at a time.

The pandemic, which led Giammattei to decree states of exception and close the borders, left 1.2 million cases of covid-19 and 20,290 dead, according to official figures.