#Guatemalan #corruption #worst #levels #Ombudsman
Corruption in Guatemala is at unprecedented levels under an “authoritarian” government that punishes prosecutors and judges who investigate organized crime, the country’s ombudsman said in an interview with AFP.
“We are living through one of the worst moments” in terms of corruption, said Jordan Rodas, the Central American nation’s top human rights defender, whose five-year term ends in mid-August.
Before leaving, Rodas has decided to abolish the state of Guatemala under its last two presidents, Jimmy Morales (2016-20) and incumbent Alejandro Giammattei.
“We are under an authoritarian regime. We have a masquerade of democracy but (it is) very fragile,” said Rodas, who claims Guatemala’s institutions have been “co-opted”.
His accusations come after police on Friday arrested journalist Jose Ruben Zamora and searched the offices of the newspaper he founded after accusing key political figures of corruption.
In June, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) added Guatemala to a list of countries committing serious human rights abuses, including Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
The IACHR accused Guatemala of “progressive weakening of democratic institutions” and “irregularities in the election of judges,” among other undemocratic processes.
Earlier this year, the United States labeled Giammattei and Attorney General Consuelo Porras as corrupt actors.
On Saturday, journalists protested Zamora’s arrest outside the courts in central Guatemala City.
Rodas, 53, took office in August 2017 and within a week was already at odds with the government.
He managed to prevent Morales from expelling the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a United Nations agency that works with Guatemalan prosecutors on corruption cases.
The CICIG accused Morales of electoral corruption, along with business allies previously considered untouchable.
But while Morales lost his legal battle with Rojas, he refused to renew the CICIG mission in 2019 and corruption investigations stalled.
Rojas said his relationship with the government was “strained, oppressive, harassing”.
The state has gained the upper hand since the CICIG left, Rojas says, by co-opting institutions and breaking the separation of political and economic power.
He accuses the government of a “well-defined strategy” in prosecuting former CICIG officials and the Guatemalan Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (FECI) and independent judges.
Several people involved in the corruption investigation have exiled out of fear, including former Attorney General Thelma Aldana and Juan Francisco Sandoval, the former FECI chief.
Sandoval, who is seen by the United States as an anti-corruption advocate, was fired by Porras in July 2021.
Rojas says the international community could “do more” to fight corruption in Guatemala, including hitting more people with sanctions, including businessmen, who are “feeding this perverse strategy.”
Last week, Washington sanctioned another 16 Guatemalans, including current FECI chief Rafael Curruchiche, who was appointed by Porras.
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