July 10
Guatemala Arrests Prominent Executive on Suspicion of Tax Fraud
Carlos Enrique Monteros Castillo, head of Guatemala’s largest hotel chain, was arrested Saturday night. He and another executive, also arrested, are suspected of evading $2.8 million in taxes. These arrests are part of CICIG’s work to root out corruption in Guatemala. Attorney General Thelma Aldana has expressed concern for her safety as CICIG and the Guatemalan government increasingly focus on private-sector corruption, an effort which could affect Guatemala’s economic elite.
July 13
Quiché: Lolita Chávez and the Fight for the Protection of Natural Resources
Lolita Chávez, indigenous rights defender and environmentalist, has faced nearly continual threats — to her work, her community, and her life — on the part of Instituto Nacional de Bosques (INAB), a Guatemalan forestry company. The threats have been carried out mostly by groups of men who appear regularly in the Central Park of Santa Cruz del Quiché to chant threateningly “Lolita Chávez must leave the department of Quiché.” Chávez was scheduled to meet with the Public Prosecutor’s office on July 13th to discuss the threats she had received over the past years from INAB.
Guatemala Human Rights Commission 