Weekly News Round-Up

National News

• President-elect Perez Molina announced the appointment of three former Kaibiles to serve as Minister of Defense, Commander in Chief, and Sub-Commander in Chief—Noé Anzueto, René Casados Ramirez, and Manuel López Ambrosio, respectively.  All three appointees have had very close ties to the Kaibiles.
• Christa Castañeda Torres, the niece of former first lady Sandra Torres, will be tried this week on charges of money laundering in the municipality of Democracia, Huehuetenango.  Gloria Torres and her daughter, Maria Marta, are also being tried for money laundering and fraud.
• President-elect Pérez Molina expressed his support of the Attorney General, Claudia Paz y Paz, reiterating that he plans to maintain her mandate through his presidency.  U.S. Ambassador Arnold Chacon also showed his support of Paz y Paz, applauding her contributions and announcing an additional $3.2 million in U.S. funding to the Cicig.

International News

• InSight Crime looks at the achievements of Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz, who has been responsible for some significant progress in Guatemala’s justice system and several high-profile arrests.  However, it appears the Paz y Paz’s position may be under fire by the incoming president, Otto Perez Molina.  While, Perez Molina announced this week his full intention to maintain her post, it remains to be seen how that promise will play out in the coming year.
• Guatemalan authorities announced the dismantling of a human sex trafficking ring that lured young Guatemalan women to work as prostitutes in Jordan.  The women were promised employment upon arrival in Jordan, but were instead sold for sexual exploitation.
• According to the annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) recently released by Transparency International, Guatemala’s perception of corruption increased significantly between 2010 and 2011, dropping from 90^th to 120^th out of 183 countries. Al-Jazeera analyzes the factors and recent events contributing to the drop.
• The Tico Times provides a harrowing report of the high rates of chronic malnutrition rampant among Guatemalan children and families.  According to the Times, malnourishment is a ‘life sentence,’ which greatly threatens the physical and mental development of young children.
• A piece by Southern Pulse analyzes the growing control of the Zetas drug cartel over the Guatemala-Mexico border, particularly the Chiapas-Peten corridor, in the context of recent arrests by security forces and Otto Pérez Molina’s promises to impose an aggressive military crack-down on narco-trafficking.
• The Guatemala Times and El Periodico report on the recent release of millions of documents from the Guatemalan national police archives, which will now be publicly available online thanks to collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin.  The documents contain valuable information on torture, forced disappearances and violence during Guatemala’s armed conflict. Read more about the archives and the history of the national police at UT-Austin’s website.

Weekly News Round-Up

National News

• Transparency International reports Guatemala’s score has fallen from 3.2 to 2.7 out of 10 for public’s perception of transparency within government for 2011.  The country is now ranked 120 out of 182 countries, only above Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic within Latin America.
• The U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, Arnold Chacon, commented Tuesday that the U.S. would guarantee the safety and security of Alfonso Portillo through the extradition process, but reminded Guatemalan authorities that his transfer is their responsibility.  Chacon also hailed the recent successful captures of narco-traffickers by Guatemalan authorities, mentioning U.S. involvement in the operations and his support for the continuation of such activities.  The new ambassador commented that it would be ideal to approve the implementation of a C4I system in Guatemala to prevent the flow of narco-trafficking.  Chacon met with Otto Perez Molina Wednesday.
• Yuri Melini, environmental activist and director Center of Legal, Environmental and Social Action (CALAS), announced that, during this past presidential term, human rights violations against environmentalists increased by 12%.  A report released by CALAS documents 96 total cases of attacks, threats, assassinations, injuries, defamation, illegal detention and unlawful searches.  Melini argued that actions against environmentalists frequently go unreported or underreported.
• The Public Prosecutor’s office announced the creation of an agency to investigate crimes committed by “non-state armed groups” during the armed conflict as part of the Special Cases Unit for Human Rights.
• Groups such as the Association of Military Widows (Asomilgua) continue to carryout out public attacks against Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz, demanding investigation of 36 supposed guerilla members, which include her aunt, Laura Paz y Paz, and her deceased father, Enrique Paz y Paz.  The supposed guerrilla members are being accused as the intellectual authors and directors of more than 45 acts of violence committed between 1978 and 1982.
• Through a poignant case-study of the San Jose Calderas community in Guatemala, Plaza Publica analyzes the factors pushing and pulling migrants to the United States, the failures of the Guatemalan government to provide adequate support, and how the migrant flow has impacted the local economy.
• 800 families from 14 different communities remain displaced in the Polochic Valley after the violent evictions carried out by the sugar cane company Chabil Utzaj last year.  Communities whose land was taken and crops destroyed have now reached a level of starvation and desperation. Now community members find themselves insulted and infuriated by the State’s meager food distribution which comes 6 months after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights called for measures to ensure food, health, housing, and security for the 800 families.  The food delivered by the State is barely enough to last 2-3 days for the average family.  The community believes that if such trends are a signal of a return to the violent, abusive past, they will not hesitate to take up arms to defend themselves and their land.

International News

• The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) will face a 30% reduction of its staff next year due to a 25% reduction in its budget.  Diego Alvarez, CICIG’s spokesperson, commented that the reductions will not affect the commission’s operations and investigations but will require more assistance from the Attorney General’s Office.  According to InSight Crime, president-elect Perez Molina has said that he will respect the CICIG mandate but has not promised to endorse its renewal in 2013.