Guatemala: President Sabotages Fight for Justice
August 31, 2018 6:00PM EDT
Decision on CICIG Mandate Jeopardizes Anti-Corruption Efforts
(New York) – President Jimmy Morales’s decision to end the mandate of a UN-backed investigative body is a major blow to efforts to fight corruption, abuse, and impunity in Guatemala, Human Rights Watch said today.
On August 31, 2018, Morales announced that he would not request an extension of the mandate of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which expires in September 2019. CICIG is investigating allegations that Morales’s presidential campaign received illegal funding and is participating in the prosecution of his son and brother on fraud charges. Morales made the announcement flanked by dozens of top military officials, shortly after 12 military jeeps were stationed in front of the CICIG’s office in Guatemala City.
"President Morales has been working for more than year to shield himself and his family from justice,” said Daniel Wilkinson, Americas managing director at Human Rights Watch. “He is now pulling the plug on the UN-sponsored commission responsible for the investigations.”
Since CICIG began investigating Morales for possible corruption, the president has waged a relentless campaign to undermine its work, Human Rights Watch said.
More:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/31/guatemala-president-sabotages-fight-justice
