For a downloadable version of this media advisory, click here. For nearly a year and a half, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has repeatedly defied the rule of law by attacking the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). On January 7, Morales announced that his administration would [...]
Jimmy Morales holds a press conference to announce unilateral cancellation of CICIG agreement. Photo credit: Moises Castillo/Associated Press The Jimmy Morales administration has brought Guatemala to a technical coup, as it ramps up its attack against the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), in [...]
For nearly a year and a half, the Jimmy Morales administration has repeatedly defied the rule of law in its attacks on the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).The situation reached another climax when CICIG researcher, Yilen Osorio, was detained and denied entry to the country at the [...]
News recap: Court affirms that the state enacted genocide, but finds Rodríguez Sánchez not guilty in a split decision; Constitutional Court upholds temporary suspension of Escoal mine and calls on the State to consult impacted Xinka communities. This and more in this month's solidarity update. [...]
This morning, survivors of the internal armed conflict held a press conference to denounce remilitarization under President Jimmy Morales' government and call for the renewal of the mandate for the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Since Jimmy Morales, surrounded by soldiers, held a press conference on August [...]
En una conferencia de prensa, organizaciones de sobrevivientes del conflicto armado interno rechazaron tanto la influencia del ejercito en el gobierno de Jimmy Morales, como la militarización de la seguridad pública y la corrupción de funcionarios del Estado. Las personas recordaron al público el rol del mismo ejercito en masacres [...]
Featured photo credit: La Hora GT For weeks, Guatemala has made international headlines after President Jimmy Morales announced his government will not renew the mandate for the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an independent anti-corruption body that has had significant impact in the country since [...]
On August 27, Guatemalan President, Jimmy Morales, declared Iván Velásquez, head of the UN anti-impunity commission, the CICIG, "persona non grata" in Guatemala and requested his immediate expulsion. This decision came on the heels of a request by the CICIG and the Guatemalan public prosecutor’s office to strip Morales [...]
Guatemala plunged into a political crisis this month as President Jimmy Morales attempted to circumvent a criminal investigation into his campaign finances by declaring the head of the UN-sponsored Commision (CICIG) persona non grata, a decision that sparked widespread public outcry. A second wave of outrage followed over legislation [...]
Photo: Francisco Simon, Prensa Comunitaria News recap: Former Kaibil, accused of participating in Dos Erres massacre, arrested in Maryland; Elderly protester killed in the Ixquisis region, Huehuetenango; Former Guatemalan Minister of Energy and Mines arrested in Miami, awaits extradition; As Trump takes office, we stand in our commitment to internationalism. This [...]
Update: On Tuesday, September 8, former President Otto Pérez Molina was indicted on charges of customs fraud, illicit association, and bribery in connection with "La Línea," a customs fraud network accused of stealing millions of dollars from the Guatemalan state. Given the number of people still being investigated in [...]
On Friday, the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and Public Prosecutor's office revealed evidence connecting Guatemala President Otto Pérez Molina to the massive customs corruption network known as La Línea. Prosecutors have filed a legal motion to strip Pérez Molina of his presidential immunity – the [...]
"We can't allow the massacres in our communities to remain in impunity. We've already achieved our sentence, but we're ready for it to be declared a second time because we know there was genocide." - Julia Cortéz, spokesperson for the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), plaintiff in the [...]
On July 12, 2015, the Guatemalan Center for Environmental and Social Legal Action (CALAS) filed criminal charges against former Minister of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), Erick Archila, and former mines director at MEM, Fernando Castellanos. CALAS is accusing Archila and Castellanos of violating the Constitution and [...]
On June 10th, Guatemala's Supreme Court unanimously voted to accept Congressman Amílcar Pop's petition to remove President Otto Pérez Molina's immunity. Pop is accusing President Molina of playing a role in the corruption scandals in the tax and health sectors, which were recently unveiled by the UN-backed International Commission [...]