Protest against corruption in Guatemala demanding the resignation of the ex-president in 2015. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Todos los derechos reservados.
The International
Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (ICAIG) was created on the 12th
of December 2006 through an agreement with the UN and the Guatemalan
government, after a favourable ruling by the Constitutional Court. The
agreement was approved later by the Guatemalan National Congress on the 1st
of August 2007.
The ICAIG was
established as an independent international body with the intention of
supporting the Public Ministry, the national police force and other state
institutions, in their endeavours to investigate crimes committed by members of
illegal organisations and clandestine security structures, to dismantle and
charge these groups, and to strengthen institutions.
Since the
commission was created, it has sentenced individuals for crimes against
humanity and many others await sentencing for charges of corruption on a large
scale.
It must be remembered that in Guatelama, an ex-president and an
ex-vice-president are currently behind bars and many members of the military
have been charged as responsible for massacres.
The prosecutor Iván Velásquez
Gómez has a positive perspective regarding the acchievements of the ICAIG, the
difficulties it has had to face throughout the previous years and the potential
is has to acchieve substantial changes for Guatemala.
José Zepeda:
Undertaking the task of contributing to the normalisation of a rule of law that
ensures justice is achieved and corrupt individuals are taken to court is
without a doubt a costly task economically and politically..
Corrupt individuals have not stood idly by up against these legal actions declared against them and they are trying to get rid of the ICAIG and those who direct it in whatever way they can.
Iván Velásquez:
In Guatemala there is huge citizen support which is entirely necessary to carry
out our work, and more so now that there is a contradiction with the
government. Without this support, it would have been impossible for us to
function properly. We also have the backing of the international political
community, from the likes of the USA, Sweden and the EU.
JZ: Did you say
contradiction with the government?
IV: In the wake
of a judicial investigation, the son of the president, José Manuel Morales, and
the brother of the governor, Samuel Morales Cabrera, have been implicated in a
series of events relating to an entity linked to the previous government of the
Patriotic Party.
The Property Registration Booty is a corruption case in which
according to a report by the public ministry and the ICAIG, involved taking
state funds under the premise of event simulation.
This case
determined a change in the attitude of the president Jimmy Morales regarding
the activity of the Commission. The explicit support he had expressed during
and after the electoral campaign began to diminish towards the end of 2016 and
since January of 2017, when his family members were linked to the judicial
process, his support has ceased to exist.
This generates certain difficulties
even though the most important thing for the ICAIG is to count on the public
ministry for support which is who we collaborate with when carrying out
investigations to take down criminal organisations. Ever since I’ve been a part
of the Commission this collaboration has been solid.
There has just
been a change with the Attorney General around May. Now we’re in a new stage of
coupling with the new prosecutor María Consuelo Porras to continue our work. We
trust that the new prosecutor will be eager and willing to contribute to the
fight against corruption.
JZ: At this
time, 6 million dollars, destined to finance the Comission, are frozen, as a
result of the workings of the so called hidden powers.
Corrupt individuals have
not stood idly by up against these legal actions declared against them and they
are trying to get rid of the ICAIG and those who
direct it in whatever way they can. Do you have confidence this will be resolved soon?
IV: Yes, I’m
confident that it will be resolved very soon. There was an improper use of
information from an investigation about a Russian family in which the ICAIG
participated. Through fake news in the US, the ICAIG was labelled as a
representative of Russian interests in Guatemala.
It was said that
this family had arrived to Guatemala fleeing from persecution in Russia.
However, the judicial analysis shows that after illegally entering the country,
they bought three fake identities for 150,000 dollars.
This confrontation exists today between those who propose to sustain the current state of impunity that has existed for decades in Guatemala and the action of the Public Ministry.
These events and
circumstances have been taken advantage of by people affected by the ICAIG’s
investigations with a significant incidence on social networks. The distorted
information that they generated eventually led to US senator Marco Rubio to
request the freezing of funds destined to the ICAIG until the situation was
cleared up.
We have informed
these individuals of everything required, and we are convinced it will come to
light that the accusations are completely false, and that the weight of the Commission,
whose undertaking also interests the US in their fight against corruption in
the northern triangle of Central America, will lead to the funds being released
swiftly.
JZ: However, the
retention of economic resources provokes a perverse effect: it sends a message
that encourages corrupt individuals to continue…
IC: The message
is negative because this shows it’s possible to affect serious, objective
investigations that have substantial popular support through other non-judicial
means. The message is that there are ways to affect judicial processes and the
smooth functioning of the Commission.
JZ: It can’t be
a coincidence that over these past days, important members of the Guatemalan
Congress have raised their voice against non-governmental organisations, that impact
on the development of the country, with the same old argument that they
threaten national sovereignty.
IV: Of course,
there’s a difficult situation in Guatemala currently. All sectors affected by
the fight against impunity have embarked on a crusade against everything the
movement has come to stand for, the campaign against impunity, and the fight
against corruption.
The present
moment is of great importance for the country and for a fight that consists of
searching for the democratic conditions that allow the existence of rule of law
to be affirmed, which is what the justice administration must contribute to.
This
confrontation exists today between those who propose to sustain the current
state of impunity that has existed for decades in Guatemala and the action of
the Public Ministry, the collaboration of the international community through
the ICAIG and the reaction of citizens with hope for transformation. We hope
this will tip in favour of democracy.
JZ: In the
context of this onslaught against the ICAIG, two key dates are approaching. The
first in the month of August, in which your visa to remain in the country must
be renewed. I have no doubt there will be plenty who will pressure for your
visa to be denied..
There exists a serious danger that my visa won’t be renewed after the month of September. I hope the government acts in accordance with the order of the Constitutional Court from last year, when my expulsion from the country was ordered.
IV: Yes, of course.
There exists a serious danger that my visa won’t be renewed after the month of
September. I hope the government acts in accordance with the order of the
Constitutional Court from last year, when my expulsion from the country was
ordered.
The court declared that any discussion regarding the handling of the
ICAIG and the Commission in Guatemala should be dealt with in New York, between
the UN and the government.
We trust that this decision is respected by the
Constitutional Court and that it doesn’t resort to mechanisms like that of not
processing visas in preparation for my expulsion from Guatemala.
JZ: The second
key date is this coming year, in which your mandate will be renovated.
IV: The 3rd
of September is the end dare of the ICAIG mandate, unless the president
requests that it continues which is the necessary means through which the UN
and the Guatemalan government must foresee the extension of the mandate.
The
circumstances are difficult because the ICAIG and the Public Ministry are
carrying out an investigation into illicit electoral financing against the
party currently in power and certain entrepreneurs that anonymously financed
the presidential campaign in 2015 and the president of the public could become
implicated in these claims.
If this link
becomes a real possibility, the Public Ministry would have to formulate a
preliminary trial request with the ICAIG before the Congress of the Republic.
The effect this has on the president will no doubt influence the decision
whether to renovate the mandate.
JZ: Guatemala
has been profoundly affected by the eruption of the Volcán de Fuego last June. This
has been a concern of the ICAIG because certain state representatives have
stolen public money that should have been put towards providing the poorest
sectors of the country with dignified living conditions.
IV: Out of all
the issues relating to corruption that have been dealt with in Guatemala, there
is a direct relationship with the deficient material conditions of the majority
of the population. Levels of infant malnutrition in children under 4 are around
46% of this age group and these figures are completely unacceptable.
There’s a relationship between the misappropriation of public funds and the lack of action in searching for solutions in favour of disadvantaged communities, a relationship between corruption, human rights and impunity.
The
situation is very serious. In other words, there’s a relationship between the
misappropriation of public funds and the lack of action in searching for
solutions in favour of disadvantaged communities, a relationship between corruption,
human rights and impunity. It’s a vicious cycle that for as long as it
continues, the country will be unable to search for ways to improve the
situation for its inhabitants.
JZ: I suspect
that in the international sphere, the everyday Guatemalan reality is relatively
unknown, and this affects the approach that say European countries for example
have to the situation.
IV: Our desire
is to promote a greater understanding of the ICAIG and the situation in
Guatemala. The need to gain backing from the international community by establishing
a truly democratic state where the rule of law prevails is in all our
interests. A universal desire to support the process of democratic state
construction and consolidation must exist.
JZ: That was
precisely where I was going. So, the ideal scenario would be that EU member and
non-member states raised their voices more regarding the situation in Guatemala
and the work of the ICAIG?
IV: Based on the perspective already discussed,
this would be the desirable situation because democracy should be a good that
we’re all interested in. Inasmuch as democratic governments exist,
international harmony would be much more viable.
This is the request that we
have formulated: to look at Guatemala, to look at Central America, to look at
the entirety of the issue in Latin America to see how, from Europe and beyond,
other countries can contribute to improving the situation.