Guatemala Cabinet minister steps down after criticism for not acting forcefully against protesters

By SONIA PÉREZ D.
Associated Press

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The sudden resignation of a Guatemalan cabinet minister appears to signal a division within the administration of President of Alejandro Giammattei over how to remove the protest roadblocks that have stretched into their third week. Interior Minister Napoleón Barrientos, a retired brigadier general, resigned late on Monday following a shooting near one of the roadblocks that one person dead and two others wounded. Barrientos had said publicly that he preferred to seek dialogue with protesters who have demanded the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo Porras over her office’s ongoing investigations into the election of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo.