Ministry of Environment declares information on El Triunfo prison construction confidential

Guatemala's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Marn) has officially declared all information, documents, and administrative acts concerning the El Triunfo prison project as confidential. This resolution, signed by Minister Patricia Orantes, invokes Article 21 of the Public Information Access Law, which outlines limits on accessing information, particularly concerning national security and military affairs.

The Marn is responsible for environmental licensing and will review requests from the Ministry of Defense, which is overseeing the prison's construction. The project itself has faced legal challenges, with work halted by a legal injunction shortly after its inauguration. This is not the first time information regarding the El Triunfo project has been classified; a similar declaration was made in May concerning a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Defense.

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in case it is provided, national security and current military regulations would be violated, since the prejudice or damage that may occur upon its release is greater than the public interest in knowing it.

The ministry has justified the secrecy for seven years, arguing that releasing the information could cause "serious prejudice or damage." They contend that divulging details from the Environmental Impact Assessment study would compromise national security and violate current military regulations, with the potential harm outweighing the public's interest in knowing. An expert in public information access, Silvio Gramajo, criticized the move as potentially illegal, arguing that classifying information that does not yet exist contravenes the principles of maximum publicity, transparency, and accountability.

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it is nefarious that at this stage they carry out a reservation of this nature when the information does not yet exist, that is