Another political crisis in Guatemala
Parker Asmann looks into this week's developments in Guatemala for Insight Crime in Is Another Presidential Crisis Unfolding in Guatemala?
Most political parties were corrupted in some way and some citizens wanted the elections delayed until the campaign finance system could be cleaned up. Instead, Guatemala went ahead with the elections in the hopes that CICIG, the MP's office, and the TSE could clean things up after the fact. And here we are.
I've been impressed with the US's public support for CICIG and its commissioner. Morales, however, might be in a damned if he removes Velasquez situation, damned if he doesn't. That's not good and makes it difficult to predict what he is likely to do today in New York. Some of my comments are at the end of the article.
Monroy Meoño, a former Guatemalan military officer turned drug trafficker with alleged links to many Guatemalan elites, was arrested by Guatemalan authorities in April 2016 and subsequently extradited to the United States. At the time he was considered to be the country's top drug boss.
Before his extradition, Monroy Meoño reportedly told elPeriódico that he had personally delivered cash to Jafeth Cabrera Cortez, the son of Guatemala's Vice President Jafeth Cabrera, during the 2015 elections. He alleged that each drug trafficker in Guatemala had to pay a "quota" to the FCN to ensure that authorities "did not disturb them" during Morales' administration, according to elPeriódico.
Additionally, the Attorney General's Office Unit against Election Offenses has opened two other investigations into the FCN. The first stems from a Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) complaint that the FCN failed to present a full report of contributions received in 2015, and the other is related to allegations that none of the campaign financing Morales received from overseas was reported, according to elPeriódico.Back in 2015, everyone agreed that there were shadowy elements in Morales' National Convergence Front (FCN). Nobody knew exactly where they were getting their resources but we knew that it probably wasn't from reputable sources.
Most political parties were corrupted in some way and some citizens wanted the elections delayed until the campaign finance system could be cleaned up. Instead, Guatemala went ahead with the elections in the hopes that CICIG, the MP's office, and the TSE could clean things up after the fact. And here we are.
I've been impressed with the US's public support for CICIG and its commissioner. Morales, however, might be in a damned if he removes Velasquez situation, damned if he doesn't. That's not good and makes it difficult to predict what he is likely to do today in New York. Some of my comments are at the end of the article.
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