Key Findings
- In 2025, the Defense Ministry (MINDEF) received US$50 million more than the previous year for equipment acquisition. This followed the trend of recent years, in which the Armed Forces and its Engineers Corp have received more funds and have been tasked with more public works and humanitarian support. In part, this approach has been implemented to limit influence-peddling identified among vendors and officials in other entities.
- By the end of 2024, the government publicly announced its plan to buy five AT-802F fire-fighting aircraft. However, January 2025 internal files show MINDEF ordered the purchase of three Turbo Thrush 710 without a competitive process. There is no record in Guatecompras, the portal for public contracts. Retired officers have reached out to the Impunity Observer to share this story, alleging overpricing: “MINDEF wants to pay around $12 million, while the total price for the three aircraft is about $6 million.”
- The retired officials have warned that military leadership’s decisions that sidestep standard procedures is breeding dissatisfaction in the ranks. Opaqueness and irregularities associated with illegal tenures (beyond constitutional limits) and irregular acquisitions are eroding public trust in the Army and paving the way for widespread corruption that runs right to the top of the institution.
In 2025, the Defense Ministry (MINDEF) received US$50 million more than the year before for equipment. Moreover, the Army Corps of Engineers (CIE) has been tasked with large projects such as the Quetzal Port expansion—normally the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure, and Housing. The stated justification was to limit influence peddling identified among vendors and officials in other entities.
The Army is one of the institutions with the highest public trust in the country, just behind the Catholic Church. That public confidence has partly justified channeling more of the budget and more public works through the military. Nevertheless, a growing number of irregularities linked to MINDEF have come to light recently, suggesting that moving procurement into the military without changing the rules may shift rather than solve the corruption risk.
This investigation explores corruption allegations in MINDEF and explores foreign good practices that could be implemented in Guatemala. It draws on internal documents reviewed by the Impunity Observer, public budget and procurement records, media reports, and interviews with two retired military officers. One of them has requested to stay anonymous and the other identified himself by only his last name: Colonel Tejeda.
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