#CICIG

[aerial-jace]

Guatpol Update

I've been scrolling the news these past few hours or so unable to sleep and since I said I'd post more about my own country's politics I thought to share what I have gleaned about the current top stories.

OLYMPICS!

You may not know but Guatemala actually had its first ever Olympic gold medallist (Adriana Ruano, women's trap shooting) and its first ever Olympic bronze medallist (Jean Pierre Brol, men's trap shooting). Alongside Erick Barrondo's Olympic silver medal in men's 20km racewalk from London 2012, this makes a complete set.

This is a big political story for a couple reasons, first off Ruano and Brol are getting a cash payout from the Guatemalan Olympic Committee, 3 million quetzales for the former and 1 million 250 thousand quetzales for the latter. (One Guatemalan quetzal is worth about 1/8 of a US dollar, for reference.) Second off, our recently elected president Bernardo Arevalo used last Saturday's celebration of the athletes to announce plans to spend more on sporting facilities. Very much an easy to sell proposition given the results on display.

But perhaps most importantly this is very much a political win for Arevalo personally. Due to the events surrounding our last election his government has been fighting an uphill battle to do much of anything. But something Arevalo has been able to do very effectively on his own is diplomacy and it is his diplomacy that averted Guatemala being excluded from the Olympics due to conflicts with the International Olympics Committee.

This crowd-pleaser victory may just be what he needs to keep support for his party, Movimiento Semilla, strong in spite of attacks from all other established parties. Speaking of...

LEGAL FOUL PLAY!

The current director of FECI, the legal prosecution office against corruption established after the independent UN observer body CICIG was dismantled, recently brought charges against and tried to remove legal immunity from Arevalo for allegedly wrongly dismissing a cabinet member. The cabinet member in question ignored orders to go through with a telecommunications contract that was allegedly corrupt. However, pretty much everyone agrees this is a politically motivated move, in line with a pattern of legal challenges brought since last year's elections whose actual purpose is to prevent Arevalo from governing. We will see where this goes but so far this move is being widely condemned.

COURT APPOINTMENT DELAYS!

In other legal news, the Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice (whose members serve for 5 year terms) is yet to be appointed! We have been at this since 2019. Hurry the fuck up, goddammit. This is what a highly corrupt state and partisan fractioning gets us. At least if no more delays pop up we will maybe get this over with by September. Maybe.

BUDGET EXPANSION!

Credit where credit's due, even with a minority in congress and having to work with their direct political enemies Arevalo was able to finally approve the 14 thousand 451 million GTQ budget expansion he has been trying to get for most of the year. However, like Arevalo and Semilla's every other move, this isn't without legal challenges. At least the US ambassador seems to have expressed approval so maybe he can twist the opposition's arm into letting this one go.

TAX EVASION!

IMO the biggest story of right now is the discovery and investigation into a tax fraud and money laundering scheme to the tune of 300 million GTQ related to contracts awarded by the government of our last president, Alejandro Giammattei. This is perhaps a golden opportunity that just fell in Arevalo's lap as pursuing this scandal, a tax scandal 10 times the size of the famous 2015 La Linea scandal which gave birth to Moviniento Semilla, is perfect for the party to show its commitment to its founding principles. Here's hoping success prosecuting it strikes fear in the Guatemalan establishment and can serve as a stepping stone to reform.

[humanrightsupdates]

Urgent Action: LAWYER AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER JAILED (Guatemala 84.23

On 28th August 2023, Guatemalan lawyer and human rights defender, Claudia González Orellana was arrested at her home after a judge issued a questionable arrest warrant against her. Claudia is a former CICIG official – a UN anti-corruption mechanism that operated in Guatemala until 2019 – and whose former officials have faced widespread persecution.

Claudia is also the legal representative for various former anticorruption lawyers who have faced criminalization in retaliation for their work. Claudia’s arrest represents a clear attempt to silence her, and all those fighting for justice and human rights in Guatemala.

Amnesty International calls on Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office to immediately and impartially review the charges against Claudia and guarantee her human rights at all stages of this process.

TAKE ACTION: 

Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.

[josuriana]

Derechos Humanos.

Pueda que conozcamos qué sean los derechos humanos. Pero, ¿Realmente conocemos cómo surgió y hoy en día qué está sucediendo con las sociedades? Bueno, viendo priemero.

¿Qué son los derechos humanos?

Los Derechos humanos son las libertades que cada uno podemos poner en práctica por ser personas. Nos permiten satisfacer nuestras necesidades y desarrollarnos de buena manera para tener una vida digna. Entre los derechos está el derecho a la alimentación, a expresarnos libremente o enseñar la religión que elijamos.

Los derechos humanos son:

Universales: Pertenecen a todas las personas.

Irrenunciables: Nadie puede ser privado de sus derechos.

Obligatorios: Los gobiernos deben de garantizar que la sociedad completa disfrute de ellos.

Indivisibles: Se deben respetar en conjunto , porque es suficientes que algunos derechos sean vulnerados.

Los derechos humanos se dividen por diferente clasificación.

Primera generación.

Segunda generación.

Tercera generación.

Existen instituciones que defienden los derechos humanos en Guatemala y organizaciones que se dedican a educar, vigila promover, y exigir el cumplimiento de estos derechos. Algunas de las instituciones son estatales y están contempladas en las leyes del país, cuentan con asignación presupuestaria y tienen diferentes tareas asignadas en esta materia. Otras instituciones han sido organizadas por los ciudadanos y ciudadanas para cooperar con el trabajo que hace el Estado. Surgen para atender un área específica en que los derechos humanos de la población se encuentran en situación de mayor vulnerabilidad.

Instituciones Estatales de Derechos Humanos en Guatemala.

Procurador de los Derechos Humanos (PDH).

Comisión Presidencial Coordinadora de la Política del Ejecutivo en Materia de Derechos Humanos (COPREDEH).

Comisión Internacional Contra la impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG).

Instituciones no estatales de derechos humanos

Es importante que todos los guatemaltecos y guatemaltecas conozcamos las instituciones donde pueden acudir en caso de una violación a sus derechos. Estas formas, no solo contarán con un apoyo para superar tal situación, sino también estarán colaborando con el el logro de la justicia social.

Instituciones estatales en Guatemala

Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH).

Fundación Sobreviviente Coordinadora Nacional de Viudas en Guatemala (CONAVIGUA).

Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala (ODHAG).

Fundación Rigoberta Tun.

Fundación Mirna Mack.

El sistema de la ONU

La ONU es un sistema de cooperación institucionalizado entre Estado soberano que se afilian de manera voluntaria para promover el respeto a los derechos humanos, reducir las tensiones internacionales, prevenir los conflictos y promover la cooperación internacional en materia económica, social y cultural.

[cienciassociales123]

Estado de Derecho de Guatemala

El estado de derecho en Guatemala ha sido un desafío persistente a lo largo de su historia debido a una serie de factores, incluyendo la corrupción, la impunidad, la falta de acceso a la justicia y los problemas relacionados con los derechos humanos. A continuación, se presenta un resumen de la situación del estado de derecho en Guatemala:

Corrupción y impunidad: La corrupción ha sido un problema sistémico en Guatemala durante décadas. Esto ha afectado negativamente al estado de derecho, ya que la corrupción puede socavar la independencia del poder judicial y minar la confianza pública en las instituciones. Además, la impunidad prevalece en muchos casos, lo que significa que los funcionarios corruptos rara vez enfrentan consecuencias legales.

Sistema de justicia ineficaz: El sistema de justicia guatemalteco ha sido criticado por su falta de eficacia, lentitud y falta de recursos. Esto ha llevado a que muchos casos judiciales se prolonguen durante años, lo que contribuye a la percepción de impunidad.

Violencia y delincuencia: Guatemala enfrenta altos niveles de violencia y delincuencia, lo que afecta la capacidad del estado para mantener el orden y garantizar la seguridad de sus ciudadanos. La falta de una respuesta efectiva del sistema de justicia penal contribuye a esta problemática.

Derechos humanos: A lo largo de la historia de Guatemala, se han documentado violaciones de derechos humanos, especialmente durante el conflicto armado interno que duró décadas. Aunque se han realizado esfuerzos para abordar estas violaciones y llevar a los responsables ante la justicia, aún persisten desafíos en este ámbito.

Reformas y esfuerzos de mejora: A pesar de los desafíos, ha habido intentos de reformar el sistema de justicia y mejorar el estado de derecho en Guatemala. La Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG), respaldada por la ONU, fue un esfuerzo importante en este sentido, pero se disolvió en 2019, lo que generó preocupaciones sobre la continuidad de las reformas.

Participación ciudadana: La sociedad civil y organizaciones no gubernamentales desempeñan un papel vital en la promoción del estado de derecho en Guatemala. Han realizado esfuerzos significativos para denunciar la corrupción y abogar por reformas.

[xselvnggz]

El Estado de Derecho es un pilar fundamental en cualquier sociedad democrática. En el caso de Guatemala, este concepto ha sido crucial en su proceso de construcción de una democracia estable y justa después de décadas de conflictos internos y regímenes autoritarios. En este ensayo, se analizará el estado actual del Estado de Derecho en Guatemala, identificando desafíos significativos y explorando las perspectivas para su fortalecimiento.

Historia del Estado de Derecho en Guatemala

La historia de Guatemala está marcada por períodos de inestabilidad política y violencia. Durante el conflicto armado interno que se prolongó desde la década de 1960 hasta la de 1990, se produjeron graves violaciones de los derechos humanos y una cultura de impunidad se arraigó en la sociedad. Sin embargo, tras la firma de los Acuerdos de Paz en 1996, el país emprendió un proceso de reconciliación y reforma institucional para fortalecer el Estado de Derecho.

Corrupción: La corrupción ha penetrado profundamente en las instituciones guatemaltecas y ha erosionado la confianza en el sistema de justicia. El caso más emblemático fue la Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG), que desempeñó un papel importante en la lucha contra la corrupción hasta su cierre en 2019. Su legado sigue siendo un tema de debate y preocupación.

Impunidad: La impunidad sigue siendo un problema en Guatemala, especialmente en casos de violaciones de derechos humanos durante el conflicto armado. La falta de rendición de cuentas para los perpetradores de abusos ha dejado heridas abiertas en la sociedad.

[chulamar]

Segunda condena contra Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa

El caso contra Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa inició en 2018 tras una denuncia de Ana Karina González Núñez, también conocida como Karina Rotman, quien lo denunció por violencia contra la mujer.

En menos de 15 días fue dictada una nueva sentencia contra el abogado Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa. Esta vez fue condenado por el delito de violencia contra la mujer en forma psicológica.

El Juzgado Segundo Pluripersonal le impuso una pena de 3 años y 3 meses de cárcel, castigo conmutable a cambio del pago de Q5 diarios. Por este proceso el exjefe de la Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria (SAT), tenía una medida sustitutiva.

El caso contra Solórzano Foppa inició en 2018 tras una denuncia de Ana Karina González Núñez, también conocida como Karina Rotman, quien lo denunció por violencia contra la mujer.

El primer caso donde fue condenado fue obstrucción a la acción penal y patrocinio infiel, junto con el abogado Justino Brito. El caso está ligado a acciones de Sólorzano Foppa y Brito cuando fueron abogados de José Rubén Zamora Marroquín. En esta acción penal también aceptaron los cargos imputados por el Ministerio Público.ç

La denuncia contra Solórzano Foppa

El exsuperintendente Solorzano Foppa fue denunciado por comentarios públicos que hizo en su cuenta de Twitter, relacionado con supuestos pagos pendientes al fisco de parte de González, cuando éste era jefe de la SAT.

El proceso contra el exfuncionario inició en febrero de 2018 y en mayo de ese año se resolvió arraigo en su contra. Seis años después el exjefe de la SAT decidió aceptar los cargos y fue condenado.

El exjefe de la SAT asumió el cargo en 2016 durante el gobierno de Jimmy Morales. Fue cesado en el puesto en enero de 2018 debido a que no llegó a la meta de recaudación establecida. La decisión fue avalada por el Directorio de la SAT, presidido por Julio Héctor Estrada, en ese entonces ministro de Finanzas Públicas.

Tras la salida de Solórzano Foppa, se hizo una convocatoria pública para interesados en dirigir la SAT. Luego del proceso de selección fue nombrado Abel Cruz, quien quedó como superintendente interino, pero luego fue confirmado en el cargo.

El tercer proceso penal

Tras su destitución en la SAT, Solórzano Foppa continuó en actividades públicas y políticas, de donde se originó el tercer caso en su contra por tres delitos:  conspiración, falsedad ideológica y asociación ilícita.

En este proceso se acusa al exfuncionario de falsificar el acta de inscripción del partido Ambientalista Guatemala que buscaba establecer en búsqueda de ocupar la alcaldía de Guatemala.

En este proceso ya fueron condenados algunos de los acusados que aceptaron los cargos, tal como Aníbal Argüello, exempleado de la extinta Comisión Especial Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG). Se prevé que Solórzano Foppa también tome ese camino para liberarse de los tres procesos penales.

[apsny-news]

El legado de la CICIG enfrenta a Guatemala y Colombia

Primera modificación: 01/02/2023 – 22:48 06:20 Conflicto entre Colombia y Guatemala. © France 24 La Fiscalía de Guatemala señaló al actual ministro de Defensa de Colombia, Iván Velásquez, de permitir la aprobación de acuerdos de cooperación con dos directivos de Odebrecht. Velásquez fue, entre 2013 y 2017, jefe de la Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad de Guatemala (CICIG), hasta que se…

[mundolatinomedia]

Estados Unidos salió en defensa del ministro de Defensa, Iván Velásquez, y ‘le cayó a Guatemala: “debilitan el Estado de derecho” - Revista Semana

El país sigue recibiendo distintas reacciones después de las acciones legales dadas a conocer por el Gobierno de Guatemala contra el ministro de Defensa colombiano, Iván Velásquez. Esto a raíz de hechos relacionados con la constructora brasileña Odebrecht, cuando este ejercía como el jefe de la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad (Cicig) de la ONU. Desde los Estados Unidos, Brian Nichols,…

[sucesosgt]

https://bit.ly/3W2XMQV

#Nacionales El corrupto ex binomio presidencial de Guatemala es sentenciado a 16 años de prisión, a pesar de un pésimo trabajo de la CICIG y el MP comandado por la prófuga Thelma Aldana.

Lea todo aquí: https://bit.ly/3W2XMQV

[mybarbarianmusic]

Light luxury bag brand summary!

Coach

Country: United States

Comments: COACH brand has a long history, the bag is good-looking and durable, whether for self use or gift are very appropriate! Recommended in the comprehensive department store, the official website order has a certain difficulty.

2.MCM

Country: Germany

Comment: MCM official website is too difficult to buy, recommend to buy from general department stores or light luxury websites, this brand of backpack believe that many people have bought, very high-grade ~ fashion essential items!

CICIG

Country: France

Comment ON: HIGH quality NICHE brand, good-looking and not expensive, light ripe women must be single, recommend to buy in the official website, buy very convenient.

[aerial-jace]

The June 25th Guatemalan election and why it's kind of a Big Deal

This last Sunday Guatemala had an election, an election I can't help but have a lot of thoughts about as it's shaping up to be the culmination of a story arc of sorts of Guatemalan politics that has been running since I first became aware of politics essentially. The results, particularly in the presidential, were shocking to say the least. By writing up this post I'm hoping not only to inform those who might be curious of what's going on in my little corner of the world but also to organize my own thoughts.

More under the cut...

So, what went down with the prsidency? At first it may seem like a routine presidential election. An overabundance of candidates, 21 total, ensured no one got to the winning threshold of 1 vote above 50%, so we're going into run-offs next August 20th between the two most voted candidates. One of the candidates who advanced into the run-offs in fact is a pretty well known face, having ran twice before, ex-first lady Sandra Torres.

The party she leads is called Unidad National de la Esperanza (National Unit of Hope or UNE for its Spanish acronym), easily the most well-established Guatemalan party, with both a strong voter base and an impressive longevity considering how easy our parties crumble within a single election cycle.

Though she was a politician in her own right from before, her big break didn't come until her ex-husband and former UNE leader Álvaro Colom reached the presidency during the 2007 election. As first lady she was the face of her husband's welfare programs as well as being one of the key bureaucrats administering them. With all these accomplishments it's easy to see why she has become so beloved.

Unsurprisingly though she's also severely maligned by more conservative-minded people. All the typical right wing clichés apply to her, that she's promoting laziness, that she's vote buying, that she's encouraging the (mostly indigenous and rural) population to breed like rabbits to get welfare money, and so on and so forth.

She's also had personal scandals clouding her image, such as her divorce in 2011, right before the presidential election. Guatemalan law prohibits not only second terms but also prohibits the immediate family of current presidents from seeking to be elected. All this with the aim of preventing them from entrenching themselves or a dynastic structure into power. The timing her seemed to a lot of people quite the convenient way to skirt these laws and because of it the Tribunal Supremo Electoral (Supreme Electoral Tribunal or TSE) rejected her candidacy.

However, it would not be accurate to dismiss all critique of her as baseless propagandizing or a focus on personality over policy. UNE over the years has had a myriad controversies, involving links to drug trafficking, illegal campaign financing, misappropriation and mismanagement of government funds, and all manners of corruption which is depressingly common in the Guatemalan Congress. As consistently one of the major voting blocs and an entrenched party, UNE as a whole, and Sandra Torres as their leader, has repeatedly acted to perpetuate the political ill that hangs most heavy in the consciousness of the Guatemalan electorate.

Her two defeats, first against comedian Jimmy Morales in 2015 in what I'd call a cheap imitation of Trump's rise to power had it not happened first and the second against our current president Alejandro Giammatei, reflect precisely this deep-seated aversion towards her. The electorate voted against her more than in favor of them to catastrophic results.

That first one is particularly notable because even though he sold himself as an anti-corruption candidate, the main achievement of the Morales government was the dismantlement of the Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, CICIG), a well regarded UN overseer body instrumental in exposing the corruption Morales's predecessor Otto Pérez Molina which led to his resignation and arrest.

(The Giammatei government's main policy achievement is massively fucking up the Covid response in just about every aspect.)

Now, to explain the origins of Sandra Torres and UNE's main opponent we have to zoom into that particular event. So! In 2014, as a response to a massive recently uncovered corruption case involving bribes and extortion at La Aurora Inernational Airport, Guatemala City residents began to protest at the central plaza of the city. The protestors rallied under the cry of #RenunciaYa (Resign Already) and as the modest protest movement that organized primarily through Twitter grew it became a focal point of anti-establishment sentiment rallying people of all sorts of different backgrounds.

As the CICIG investigation on the case proceeded and it became untenable for the government to let this grow, Congress voted to revoke political immunity to the president and the very next day he was arrested. He remains under custody to this very day. The very successful citizen activist campaign soon morphed into the #JusticiaYa (Justice Already) movement aiming to call out corruption and bring all politicians furthering the institutional rot of the Guatemalan government to justice.

From the leadership of #JusticiaYa would emerge Movimiento Semilla (Seed Movement), a social democratic party billing itself as primarily an anti-corruption force in Congress and secondarily as a more principled alternative to the rotten UNE. The niche they fill right now is one that used to be filled by Encuentro por Guatemala (Encounter for Guatemala), an older more established party that was dissolved due to not reaching the vote threshold to remain as an active party after 2019.

The reason Encuentro lost so many voters is because many of them thought it would be a good idea to give the fresh, young Semilla candidates a chance under the assumption Encuentro would eventually absorb them. My mom did precisely that, in fact, and when the desired outcome did not materialize it left other Encuentro voters like myself feeling pretty miffed.

Semilla had intended to put forward our ex-attorney general Thelma Aldana, another key figure in the Pérez Molina downfall, as candidate in 2019 but her candidacy was rejected by the TSE and so they didn't put forward a presidential until this year with their leader Bernardo Arévalo. For his very first electoral showing they managed an impressive 11.77% compared to Sandra Torres's 15.86% and the spoilt ballots' 17.39%. With this he has well and truly established himself as the dark horse on this race.

In terms of congressmen, Semilla has also managed some fairly good numbers, positioned as the 3rd largest party with 23 out of 120 representatives, up from a measly 7 last election. They're only behind UNE's 28 and Vamos por una Guatemala Differente's (Let's go for a different Guatemala, the incumbent president's party) 38. It is not the best result they could have gotten, it will still be quite the uphill battle to get anything done if they win the presidency, specially since their main ally in Congress right now is the coalition between the indigenous issues parties Winaq and URNG-Maiz, both of which only managed 1 representative sent by their joint delegation down from 6, 3 and 3 each, in the current congress. (The party I voted for this time, I just can't win can I?) But it is at least very encouraging to Semilla voters.

Arévalo is in an interesting position as leader and presidential candidate of a social democratic party allied with two historically very leftist --outright communist in URNG's case!-- indigenous issues parties. For years the right wing line has been to demonize Sandra Torres but it seems her more centrist and socially conservative tendencies make her seem like the most pallatable option of the two at the moment. It will be hard, however, to get the right wing base to unlearn all their vitriol against her.

In economic policy Semilla seems to be much more vague than UNE, only mentioning more public spending in aspirational terms rather than concrete policies, possibly to avoid alienating voters or distracting from their main objective of bringing accountability to Guatemalan institutions. Although they are not my first choice I am very much supporting them this second round. Their alliance with Winaq and URNG-Maiz has the potential to bring more leftist positions into the mainstream. Plus they are the single openly pro-LGBT party in the running which is neat.

My biggest hope right now is that a succesful Semilla government will open up the possibility of closer collaboration with a stronger Winaq and URNG-Maiz. I'm particularly hoping Semilla, Winaq, and URNG-Maiz run a joint candidacy for mayor of Guatemala City and that it can finally topple the dominance of the Partido Unionista (Unionist Party) candidate. The Semilla-Winaq-URNG candidate this year was excellent and had the objectively correct urban planning takes.

So, yeah, that's what's been happening over here.

[chamerionwrites]

A UN commission that spent the last 12 years investigating graft in Guatemala has described the country as “captured” by corruption in its final report, days before it is set to wrap up operations after President Jimmy Morales refused to renew its mandate.

The commission, known as Cicig for its initials in Spanish, said in its final report that there is a “mafia coalition” among members of government, the business community and private individuals that is “willing to sacrifice Guatemala’s present and future to guarantee impunity and preserve the status quo”.

The commission chief Iván Velásquez, a Colombian lawyer who has been barred by Morales’ government from entering Guatemala, said via video conference from Colombia that the report would be the commission’s last public act.

“We almost got to the nucleus of the structures that have captured the state,” Velásquez said. “This cannot be solved without a profound restructuring of the state.”

The commission began its work in Guatemala in 2007 at the request of then-president Óscar Berger and was given responsibility for dismantling illegality in the wake of the country’s 1960-1996 civil war.

Morales accused the body of overreaching its authority last year, after the commission brought investigations against him, some of his relatives and his inner circle. He was protected from prosecution as a sitting president and has denied wrongdoing.

While many observers praised the commission for its work, which resulted in the prosecution of more than 400 people, including the former president Otto Pérez Molina, his vice-president and much of his cabinet, Morales decided that Cicig had run its course, setting up its impending departure on 3 September.

Critics saw Morales’ refusal to renew the commission’s mandate as an attempt to protect himself and those close to him.

The report said the “impunity of power” in Guatemala dates to colonial times.

One of the reasons why corruption networks persist today, it said, is that “they have distorted democratic institutionality in their favor and they have molded the political system and designed mechanisms that allow them to occupy positions of power, manipulating legislation.”

“Between 2012 and 2015, an illicit, political-economic network took over the executive (branch), subordinated the legislative, manipulated and interfered in the election of judges to high courts and, in addition to looting the state, promoted laws and policies favoring private companies to the detriment of competition and the citizenry,” the report continued.

All that benefited drug trafficking networks, it added.

Together with Guatemalan prosecutors, the commission took down 70 organized crime networks. Those targeted for prosecution have included public officials, lawmakers, judges, businesspeople and other civilians.

It also investigated Morales’ National Convergence Front for alleged illegal political financing.

The report said illicit political money is “present in the majority of campaigns and parties” and comes from criminal organizations including drug traffickers seeking territorial control and political protection, as well as businesspeople seeking influence.

[bookish2bookish]

Los pasos hacia la dictadura

Los pasos hacia la dictadura

“Nunca se rindan, nunca cedan, nunca, nunca, nunca, en nada grande o pequeño, nunca cedan salvo por las convicciones del honor y el buen sentido. Nunca cedan a la fuerza; nunca cedan al aparentemente abrumador poderío del enemigo” Winston Churchill

Los aprendices de dictador conocen que el electorado es fácilmente engañado cuando su atención está puesta en problemas mayores. Usualmente, estos…

[guatepolitics]

Guatemala Police Archive under Threat

Washington, D.C., August 13, 2018—Guatemala’s renowned Historical Archive of the National Police (AHPN) is in crisis after its director Gustavo Meoño Brenner was abruptly removed in one of a series of recent actions orchestrated by the Guatemalan government and a United Nations office. The actions also placed the AHPN’s remaining staff of more than fifty people on temporary contract, and transferred oversight for the repository from the country’s national archives, where it had functioned since 2009, to the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Meoño learned of his removal on Friday, August 3, when a convoy of government vehicles pulled up in front of the Police Archive, and officials from the Culture Ministry and the Guatemalan office of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) entered, demanding that he leave. “The operation was executed with all the characteristics of a commando strike,” one press account reported.

The unexpected move threatens to jeopardize the stability of the AHPN’s enormous collection of fragile National Police documents. Since their discovery in an abandoned and deteriorating state on a Guatemala City police base in 2005, hundreds of volunteers and paid employees have cycled through the AHPN under Meoño’s leadership to clean, organize, scan, and make public over twenty million pages of the estimated 8 linear kilometers of paper records. A UNDP employee with no experience in archival management has been named to replace Meoño as director.

Historically, the UNDP played an important role in the creation of the Police Archive. Its Guatemala office administered millions of dollars in donations granted to the AHPN by foreign governments and the United Nations. The office provided technical assistance, political advice, and administrative support. It was also a frequent ally to the AHPN during several difficult periods in the course of the archive’s growth and development.

Yet in a press release issued on the Sunday after Meoño’s ouster, the UNDP failed to explain its decision to push the long-time director out, beyond stating that his contract had ended and would not be renewed. The release is written in bland, bureaucratic language that provides no detailed plans for the future management of the Police Archive beyond ensuring that it is “strengthened in its institutionality and sustainability.”

For the National Security Archive, Meoño’s abrupt removal, the decision to shift oversight of the AHPN out from under the careful stewardship of Ana Carla Ericastillo – director of the national archives of Guatemala – to the untested Ministry of Culture and Sports, and the UNDP’s refusal to provide dozens of long-time staff members with reasonable working contracts are deeply troubling developments.

The National Security Archive has an association with the Historical Archive of the National Police that goes back to the AHPN’s beginning. The Archive’s Kate Doyle and Carlos Osorio had the privilege of visiting the site of the massive Police Archive just weeks after it was discovered in July 2005. They witnessed firsthand the awesome task that faced Meoño and his colleagues to rescue a treasure trove of historic documentation that was rotting with mold after years of neglect. Doyle went on to advise the AHPN project, bringing professional archivist Dr. Trudy Peterson conduct an initial assessment of the collection, and then worked with the AHPN to develop investigative skills to identify evidence of human rights abuses. Today, Doyle serves on the AHPN’s International Advisory Board.

In 2010, Doyle participated as an expert witness in the first criminal human rights proceeding in Guatemala to draw on Police Archive records as legal evidence for the prosecution. The trial of two former police agents for the forced disappearance of labor leader Edgar Fernando García, and a second trial in 2013 of their superiors – including the former chief of the Guatemalan National Police, Col. Héctor Bol de la Cruz – represented a breakthrough in human rights justice in Guatemala. Led by Meoño, the extraordinary work of the Historical Archive of the National Police made those prosecutions – and the many others that followed – possible.

Indeed, it may be the Police Archive’s crucial contributions to human rights trials that caused the government of President Jimmy Morales to seek to control the repository and fire its director. Besides the Fernando García case, AHPN records played a central role in trials of former army and police officers for the 1980 deadly burning of the Spanish Embassy, and the 1981 abduction, torture and rape of Emma Molina Theissen and forced disappearance of her 14-year-old brother Marco Antonio, among others. AHPN documents also form the heart of evidence in the as-yet-untried “Death Squad Dossier” investigation, concerning the mass forced disappearance of almost 200 citizens over the course of 18 months at the height of the country’s internal conflict.

Those cases, along with the 2013 genocide trial of ex-dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, enraged powerful military intelligence and operational officers who were behind the scorched earth counterinsurgency campaigns of the 1980s. They have sought to harass, intimidate, and shut down the human rights and justice organizations contributing to the prosecutions ever since. President Morales himself has also attacked the international investigative body that helped strengthen human rights prosecutions and fight corruption, known as CICIG. Since taking power, Morales’ government and the Congress his party controls have tried to shut down CICIG and kick out its commissioner, Iván Velásquez, without success.

So it is possible that the government crackdown on the Historical Archive of the National Police is another effort to halt the process of human rights justice in Guatemala and punish its defenders. What is still utterly unclear is why an agency of the United Nations is joining in that effort.

Since Gustavo Meoño’s dismissal, friends of the Police Archive – among them, civil society groups, human rights defenders, academics, lawyers, religious organizations, and international supporters – have come together to demand an explanation for the hasty and still unjustified actions taken by the UNDP and the Guatemalan government. Last week, they issued a statement calling for answers from those two entities and demanding that the AHPN’s documents be safeguarded, its investigative work continue, and its Advisory Boards be reactivated to help guide the Police Archive in the coming period.

[cienciassociales123]

La justicia en Guatemala

La situación de la justicia en Guatemala ha sido un tema de preocupación durante décadas debido a una serie de problemas sistémicos que han afectado su eficacia y legitimidad. Aquí tienes un resumen de algunos de los aspectos más relevantes:

Corrupción en el sistema judicial: La corrupción ha permeado el sistema judicial guatemalteco durante mucho tiempo. Jueces, abogados y funcionarios públicos han sido acusados de aceptar sobornos y manipular casos judiciales.

Impunidad: La impunidad es un problema grave en Guatemala, y muchas personas que cometen delitos, incluyendo políticos y miembros de fuerzas de seguridad, no enfrentan consecuencias legales. Esto ha llevado a la percepción de que la justicia es selectiva y que los poderosos pueden evadir la ley.

Violencia y crimen: Guatemala enfrenta altos niveles de violencia y crimen, incluyendo homicidios y delitos violentos. La falta de una justicia efectiva ha contribuido a la escalada de la violencia en el país.

Sistema penitenciario sobrepoblado: Las prisiones en Guatemala están sobrepobladas y en condiciones precarias. La falta de recursos y la corrupción en el sistema penitenciario han llevado a problemas como el hacinamiento y la violencia entre reclusos.

Reformas judiciales: A lo largo de los años, se han implementado una serie de reformas judiciales en Guatemala para abordar estos problemas. Por ejemplo, la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG) trabajó en colaboración con el gobierno guatemalteco para investigar y procesar casos de corrupción y crimen organizado. Sin embargo, la CICIG fue desmantelada en 2019, lo que generó preocupaciones sobre la continuidad de las reformas.

Desafíos históricos: La justicia en Guatemala ha estado marcada por su historia de conflictos armados y violaciones de derechos humanos. La búsqueda de justicia por parte de las víctimas de estos abusos ha sido un proceso complicado y, en muchos casos, insatisfactorio.

[newstfionline]

Guatemala’s president tries to shut down anti-corruption group investigating him

By Joshua Partlow, Washington Post, September 5, 2018

MEXICO CITY--When Jimmy Morales ran for president of Guatemala three years ago, the former TV comedian’s campaign slogan was “Neither corrupt, nor a thief.”

One of the reasons Morales had to make honesty a central issue in his campaign was the work of an unusually powerful group of crime fighters known as the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, or CICIG.

In the face of enormous political pressure, this United Nations-backed organization had conducted rigorous investigations of corruption at the highest levels of Guatemala’s government for more than a decade. Its work helped inspire a nationwide protest movement in 2015 and led to the arrest of then-President Otto Pérez Molina, then-Vice President Roxana Baldetti and many more.

For more than a year, CICIG has been investigating Morales himself, accusing him of accepting about $1 million in illegal campaign donations and earning his ire in return.

Last year, Morales tried to expel the head of CICIG, Colombian prosecutor Iván Velásquez, but the Constitutional Court blocked the move.

Over the past week, the conflict has flared up again. On Friday, Morales said he would not renew CICIG’s mandate, which expires next year. The same day, Guatemalan military vehicles stood guard outside CICIG’s offices and descended on a central plaza. On Tuesday, Morales ordered that Velásquez, who has led CICIG since 2013, not be allowed back in Guatemala.

“For some time now, there have been efforts to derail anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala and continued attacks against the commission and the commissioner,” said Adriana Beltrán, a Guatemala expert at the Washington Office on Latin America. Morales’s actions, she said, are “his attempt to protect himself, given the continuing probe against him.”

While Velásquez remains in the United States, the work of CICIG continues, said a spokesman, Matias Ponce. The organization, which has about 200 staff members, is also waiting for the Guatemalan government to renew work visas of CICIG’s foreign staff, he said.

Apart from blocking Velásquez’s entrance into Guatemala, the Morales government this year removed 25 police personnel assigned to guard CICIG, cutting its security force in half.

Morales has argued that CICIG, as a foreign body that receives U.S. funding, constitutes a violation of Guatemalan sovereignty and that Guatemala’s own judicial institutions should be handling such graft cases.

CICIG works in conjunction with the Guatemalan attorney general’s office in building corruption cases.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres last week, Morales said CICIG has had more than “sufficient” time over the course of its mandate to achieve its goals.

CICIG was set up in 2006 to bolster Guatemala’s weak judicial institutions. At the time, impunity was rampant in the country, and murders were hardly ever solved. The group, composed of investigators from around the world, used sophisticated investigative techniques, wiretapping and examination of financial records to pursue high-profile crimes. Its work became a model and inspiration in Latin America, where corruption often goes unpunished.

But CICIG has also been polarizing. Critics see it as overzealous and manipulated for political reasons.