Guatemala's International Commission Against Impunity
Guatemala's International Commission Against Impunity

Author: Fernando Carrera

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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In the last years of the armed conflict, some of the actors that have participated in those clandestine operations re-adapted their modus operandi to fit other types of criminal activities such as customs corruption, large scale smuggling of goods, extortion and kidnapping for economic purposes, and drug trafficking. Control of borders and logistical corridors became also an important feature for their operations, which in turn led to political control of territories and linkages with politicians. In the last years of the armed conflict, some of the actors that have participated in those clandestine operations re-adapted their modus operandi to fit other types of criminal activities such as customs corruption, large scale smuggling of goods, extortion and kidnapping for economic purposes, and drug trafficking. Control of borders and logistical corridors became also an important feature for their operations, which in turn led to political control of territories and linkages with politicians. International Commission to Fight Impunity (CICIG) has played a critical role in using and promoting a legislative framework that enhances criminal prosecution in Guatemala. In this regard, some national laws have been critical for its work. First, the Law Against Organized Crime (LCCO) approved in 2006, before CICIG ́s creation. However, CICIG requested the Guatemalan Congress to consider some reforms in 2009 to allow for more prosecutorial power, using instruments widely known in criminal law but inexistent in Guatemalan legal framework at that time. The reforms were approved, and since then CICIG and the Attorney General Office have used extensively their enhanced capacity.

Hidden Powers in Post-conflict Guatemala
Hidden Powers in Post-conflict Guatemala

Author: Susan C. Peacock

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13:

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Examines the hidden powers behind clandestine illegal armed groups, criminal activity, and human rights violations in Guatemala since the end of the civil war, with emphasis on developments during 2002-2003.

Crimes Without Punishment
Crimes Without Punishment

Author: Karen Musalo

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 29

ISBN-13:

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Building on previous studies, this article provides a brief overview of the prevalence and patterns of violence against women in Guatemala, a country with one of the highest rates of femicide, or gender-motivated killings of women, in the world. It looks at some of the government's nascent efforts to implement laws and policies aimed at preventing and punishing femicide and other gender-based violence, examines statistics that show these efforts have not effectively reduced levels of violence or impunity, and analyzes the principal barriers to effective implementation of the laws. In the end, the article recommends that - beyond the creation of additional specialized courts, continued trainings of justice system officials, and improved investigatory procedures, efforts the Guatemalan government has begun - the Guatemalan government should institute a monitoring program to evaluate the performance of public officials in carrying out their obligations to apply the laws on gender violence. Additionally, the government should create a system to impose disciplinary actions, including ultimate dismissal of those who fail to apply the laws effectively and without gender bias because, ultimately, without a way to evaluate and impose serious sanctions upon public officials tasked with applying the law, there will never be meaningful change.

Too Much Success? The Legacy and Lessons of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala
Too Much Success? The Legacy and Lessons of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala

Author: Charles Call

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13:

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The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) represents an innovative effort to curb criminal threats to democratic rule and to strengthen state capacity that diverged from the dominant mode of technical assistance. Working through treaty-based international authority, this “hybrid” U.N.-backed mission combined international and national capacities working through Guatemalan laws and courts. The Commission successfully investigated and helped prosecute multiple high-ranking Guatemalan officials, ex-military officers and business elites. Those investigations precipitated anti-corruption protests that ousted the sitting president and vice president in the “Guatemalan Spring” of 2015. CICIG investigations led to 1,540 indictments in 120 cases involving over 70 illicit networks. The mission showed Guatemalans that the rule of law can be applied even to the most powerful, had far-reaching political impact, and contributed to the effectiveness of the Attorney-General's office.Yet by the time the mission closed in 2019 after twelve years of operation, a cloud hung over its legacy. As CICIG's cases ensnared an expanding array of top businessmen, officials and political parties, economic and political elites launched an anti-CICIG media campaign and hired lobbyists to undermine what had been strong bipartisan support for the mission's biggest financial backer, the United States. President Jimmy Morales, elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2015, turned against the Commission after his brother and son were indicted. Morales and his allies won some support from the Trump administration in decrying the Commission as a violation of national sovereignty. Yet during its final years, CICIG's support in public opinion polls never fell below 70%.Leaving behind a complex legacy, CICIG both inspired a jaded Guatemalan citizenry to stand up to corrupt officials and galvanized former political enemies around the common perceived threat of the Commission. This report evaluates the history of CICIG to analyze its impact on Guatemalan political life and to draw lessons for future hybrid anti-impunity missions.

Crime, Violence, and the Crisis in Guatemala
Crime, Violence, and the Crisis in Guatemala

Author: Hal Brands

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2015-10-02

Total Pages: 70

ISBN-13: 9781517628680

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In numerous Latin American countries, organized crime and violence are corroding governance and imperiling democratic legitimacy. This phenomenon is most severe in Guatemala, which is currently experiencing a full-blown crisis of the democratic state. An unholy trinity of criminal elements-international drug traffickers, domestically based organized crime syndicates, and youth gangs-have dramatically expanded their operations since the 1990s, and are effectively waging a form of irregular warfare against government institutions. The effects of this campaign have been dramatic. The police, the judiciary, and entire local and departmental governments are rife with criminal infiltrators; murder statistics have surpassed civil-war levels in recent years; criminal operatives brazenly assassinate government officials and troublesome members of the political class; and broad swaths of territory are now effectively under the control of criminal groups. Guatemala's weak institutions have been unable to contain this violence, leading to growing civic disillusion and causing marked erosion in the authority and legitimacy of the state. This problem cannot be addressed through police measures alone; combating it will require a holistic strategy that combines robust enforcement and security measures with sustained efforts to broaden socio-economic opportunities, combat corruption, and, above all, to build a stronger and more capable state. HAL BRANDS currently works as a defense analyst in Washington, DC. He is the author of From Berlin to Baghdad: America's Search for Purpose in the Post-Cold War World (2008), as well as recent Strategic Studies Institute monographs on drug trafficking and radical populism in Latin America. His next book, Latin America's Cold War, will be published in late 2010. Brands has written widely on U.S. grand strategy, Latin American politics and security, and related issues. Dr. Brands holds a Ph.D. in history from Yale University.