When confronted, Veras first said that there was no relationship between her husband and Guerra. Minutes later, however, she corrected herself and said that they only had a "professional" relationship. Guerra
Valvert has said that he has a friendship with Guerra, but not an close one. Valvert also said that he and Guerra had never worked on a case together. Guerra contradicted him, however, when he said that they had indeed worked on a case together. It also turns out the Valvert was Guerra's student some thirty years ago in college.
Here's the video showing Guerra and Valvert together at the Public Ministry's office.
On the one hand, Veras should have made the connection between her husband and Portillo's lawyer known either before the trial or when she first became aware of the fact. Even if it did not influence her decision in the case, the photos and connection between the two undermine the perception of impartiality. On the other hand, Guatemala is a pretty small country where most lawyers and judges know each other. They run in the same professional and social circles and it would be really hard to find many judges and lawyers with no personal or professional relationship at all.
Luis Archila, the president of the country's Supreme Court of Justice, says that they will not hesitate to investigate should there be some accusation of corruption. If this is all we have to go on, I can't say that the connection between Veras' husband and Portillo's lawyer is going to be enough to invalidate the decision. There was a second judge who agreed with the ruling. We'll just have to wait for additional details to come out. These connections, however, are not going to help convince the majority of Guatemalans who had already questioned the court's ruling.
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