Guatemala prison chief arrested in corruption probe

[Judi Lynn]

Guatemala prison chief arrested in corruption probe
AFP
September 4, 2014, 9:56 am

Guatemala City (AFP) - The head of Guatemala's prison system was arrested on bribery and money-laundering charges linked to a notorious jail-based criminal syndicate, prosecutors said. Edgar Camargo, director of the Guatemalan Penitentiary System, was detained over allegations of a conspiracy with a gang headed by jailed Army captain Byron Lima Oliva.

Prosecutor Thelma Aldana said investigators had uncovered evidence linking prison system officials to "illicit" practices.

Camargo was arrested on charges of conspiracy, bribery and conspiracy to launder money.

Lima Oliva, who was jailed for 20 years in 2001 for his involvement in the murder of Guatemalan bishop Juan Gerardi in April 1998, had emerged as one of the most powerful figures inside Guatemala's prison system, investigators had found.

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Lima Oliva was "central" to the conspiracy he added, controlling aspects of prison life such as arranging inmate transfers, conjugal visits and access to phones. While in prison, Lima Oliva had even been able to purchase several properties in upmarket areas of the capital as well as luxury cars made by Jaguar, BMW or Porsche.

More:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/world/a/24896388/

[Judi Lynn]

1. BBC: Guatemala prisons director Edgar Camargo arrested

3 September 2014 Last updated at 17:06 ET
Guatemala prisons director Edgar Camargo arrested

Guatemala's Prison Service Director Edgar Camargo has been arrested and charged with involvement in a lucrative corruption and extortion scheme. Prosecutors say the scheme was run by a high profile convicted criminal, Byron Oliva Lima, who paid bribes to Camargo.

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Camargo and Oliva Lima were school friends and graduated in the same class in 1987, according to Prensa Libre newspaper.

Oliva Lima was sentenced along with three other men for the killing of Bishop Gerardi.

The cleric was bludgeoned with a concrete slab after blaming Guatemala's military for most of the deaths during the Central American nation's brutal civil war.

An estimated 200,000 people were killed in the 1960-1996 civil war, the vast majority of them indigenous Ixil Mayans accused of supporting a left-wing insurgency.

More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-29052031

[Judi Lynn]

2. Man accused of controlling Guatemala organised crime

Saturday 6th September 2014
Man accused of controlling Guatemala organised crime

by SONIA PEREZ in GUATEMALA CITY

AN ARMY captain serving 20 years for killing a bishop has been charged with building a multimillion-dollar prison empire based on threats and corruption.

Guatemalan prosecutors have accused Byron Lima Oliva, 44, of money-laundering and organised crime, saying he took cash from inmates in return for prohibited mobile phones, food and conjugal visits.

“Lima represents for many of the inmates the true authority, and so they turn to him to seek transfers, favours and rights,” said Ivan Velasquez, head of the UN International Commission Against Impunity, which targets crime and corruption in Guatemala. “Lima Oliva exerts undoubtable influence in the penitentiary system,” he added.

Mr Velasquez said the investigation found that Lima possessed several properties, including a beach home, and various luxury vehicles, despite being behind bars.

More:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/world/man-accused-of-controlling-guatemala-organised-crime-1-3531928

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Also mentioned in other articles:

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Lima has boasted in the past of friendship with the president, Otto Perez Molina, and claims to have helped provide his 2011 campaign with money from businessmen. The office of the president, also a former soldier, declined to comment.

Lima was sentenced in 2001 along with three other men for the killing of Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi. The 75-year-old activist clergyman was bludgeoned to death in 1998, two days after he presented a report blaming the military for most of the 200,000 deaths in the 1960-96 civil war.