Guatemalan Judges, Cops, Polticians, and Business Bankrolled by Organized Crime

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch reporter – North America desk

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – U.N.-sponsored International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig) reported that government officials and business people are bankrolled by Guatemala’s powerful criminal organizations.  The corruption of judges, prosecutors, police, lawmakers and business executives puts organized crime above the law

Carlos Castresana, jurist in charged of Cicig, stated, “Let’s not fool ourselves: there are judges who are on the payrolls, there are business owners, there are politicians, there are legislators who work for these groups,” and added “Each has his sectors of interest and his groups to protect.”

The success of Cicig and the newly implemented Attorney General’s Office in identifying organized criminals, including recent arrests of high-ranking police officers and former President Alfonso Portillo, gave organized crime something to be concerned.  Castresana said “The bad guys don’t know what we have, but as we translate that information into evidence and we bring it before the courts, our cards will be revealed as we put them on the table.”

Castresana also points to an attempt to discredit Cicig as a counter reaction by organized crime, such as press reports criticizing Cicig work.  He commented “We knew this was going to happen. We’re not particularly scared or alarmed, naturally the falsehoods we are seeing published bother us,”

“The press was outraged when, a year ago, I said that (the criminal organizations) are also in the media, and they asked for names: well, there they are, there you have them,” Castresana said.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune – Judges, Cops and Politicians on Mob Payrolls in Guatemala – 12 April 2010

La Prensa – Judges, cops and pols on mob payrolls in Guatemala – 12 April 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive