A top Guatemalan judge resigns in blow to anti-corruption movement

FILE PHOTO: Erika Lorena Aifan, judge of Guatemala's high-risk court, poses for a picture at her office on the 14th floor of the towering judicial building in Guatemala City, Guatemala February 22, 2022. REUTERS/Luis Echeverria/File Photo

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - One of Guatemala's top judges, a key figure in the fight against corruption, said on Monday that she had resigned amid threats and pressure related to her work, in a blow to the stuttering fight against impunity in the Central American country.

Judge Erika Aifan played a vital role in the anti-graft push led by a U.N.-backed anti-corruption body that had been kicked out of the country in 2019. Human Rights Watch said Aifan's departure would hurt Guatemala's judicial system.