Guatemala News Roundup

Steve Dudley Insight Crime has the story on how Guatemala Traffickers Exploit Legal Tool to Fight Extradition. People have been banging their heads against the wall over amparos for awhile now. while suspects are fighting extradition to the US, Mexico is prepared to extradite Marvin Montiel or Marvin Leonel Barrios (aka El Taquero) to Guatemala. He is wanted in connection with the November 2008 massacre in which 15 Nicaraguans and one Dutch citizen died in Guatemala. He is the massacre's alleged intellectual author.

According to survey data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LA Times), approximately 8% of Guatemalans agree with the statement that that paying a bribe is sometimes justifiable. I have no idea why. It seems like the bottom countries are those with dirty and clean reputations.  

Fortunately, CICIG has agreed to stay on for two more years (WSJ and La Nacion). According to the WSJ article, Colom said at some point last year that the country might be ready to move on without CICIG. It's possible but I don't remember coming across that or the context in which those words were offered. 

The good news is that the current president has asked CICIG to stay at least two more years (into 2015) and that the Interior Ministry has asked CICIG to create an internal affairs unit in order to identify organized crime structures that could be operating within that institutions and its dependencies (police, prisons, migration). 

Unfortunately, some judges continue to try to impede CICIG's work.. Judge Carlos Aguilar ordered CICIG off the case of Francisco and Estuardo Valdez Paiz, two men implicated in the killing of Rodrigo Rosenberg because its mandate does not extend to femicide, murder, or kidnapping.

The Mutual Support Group (GAM), with the International Red Cross's assistance, help bring another war torn family back together twenty-five years after they were separated during an army operation. Reuters also has a story on how Long-hidden archives help Guatemala war crimes trials.