Guatemala Today

Last week the media reported that President Alvaro Colom has taken a bold and unexpected step in his housecleaning of the government's security apparatus with the firing of the high-ranking advisor Victor Rivera Azuejo -- a tremendously powerful former Venezuelan intelligence officer who has served as a top consultant to the Guatemalan police since 1996 on kidnapping cases and other specialist matters.

Rivera, who is also known by his alias "Zacarias," first came under public scrutiny following the brutal slayings of the three Parlacen Congressman from El Salvador in Guatemala. These murders, carried out by a suspicious organized "death squad" which was also believed to be involved in social cleansing operations, were linked directly to Rivera. Colom's opponent in the presidential campaign, Gen. Otto Perez Molina, and his chief deputy Roxana Baldetti of the Partido Patriota, filed a complaint before the attorney general, claiming they had proof of Rivera's involvement as a commander of the death squads and other links to organized crime. A congressional investigation was launched as a result, eventually leading to the resignation of Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann and Chief of Police Erwin Sperisen. Rivera, however, was able to keep his position thanks to protection from supporters among the elite, as well as Vielmann’s replacement, Adela de Torrebiarte.

Continue reading "Colom Fires an Influential yet Shadowy Security Official" »

There's an interesting report from Piers Scholfield of the BBC from Guatemala about the "near-total absence of justice" in the country, and the tragic lack of progress of the UN's Anti-Impunity Commission to begin any substantive work. Dutch Ambassador Teunis Kamper, whose government donated a large sum of money to back the CICIG, told the BBC that the country is "a paradise for organised crime."

Human rights leader Frank LaRue is also worried about the commission's ability to investigate previous military abuses: "This government has remilitarised many of the civilian structures that should remain civilian... and they have chosen military people with questionable records in terms of corruption or connections to organised crime."

As President Alvaro Colom nears the completion of his first two months in office, he has so far successfully maintained his popularity, and has carried out the difficult balancing act between the ideological extremes to confront the twin scourges which have ravaged the Republic of Guatemala since the end of the civil conflict: institutional weakness and insecurity.

Although the president campaigned on an ambitious platform to create 700,000 jobs, build 200,000 homes, and reduce poverty by 20%, his administration will first have to confront the dire lack of resources, extremely low tax collection, and pervasive crime, which have ruthlessly held society hostage for years. Without quick improvements in these areas, Colom’s big promises will be unlikely to materialize.

For Colom to take Guatemala forward, his administration will need to 1) clearly define to citizens and international partners why impunity persists, 2) build a new, broad consensus in congress on basic reforms, and 3) summon the courage to stand up to organized crime and economic elites in the name of rule of law.

Continue reading "Colom Inherits a Disadvantage" »