Constitutional Court blocks ouster of CICIG commissioner
On Tuesday, Guatemala's Constitutional Court ruled that President Jimmy Morales' order to expel CICIG Commissioner Ivan Velasquez from the country was done improperly. The decision cannot be appealed.
The Supreme Court will now decide whether Morales can be stripped of his immunity from prosecution as president. Morales' move to remove Velasquez began when CICIG and the Attorney General's Office announced that they would seek the removal of his immunity so that they could pursue charges against the president for his party's alleged campaign financing irregularities in the 2015 election.
The Court's decision was an important win for the rule of law in Guatemala. Jimmy Morales has been an advocate for those invested in CICIG and the AG's failure. However, as everyone knows by now, corruption and organized crime go much deeper than Morales, and Otto Perez Molina before him. The retired military officers, and other criminal figures, who funded Morales' campaign, will move on. They don't care about Perez Molina or Morales. They were simply vehicles through which to defend impunity.
The Supreme Court will now decide whether Morales can be stripped of his immunity from prosecution as president. Morales' move to remove Velasquez began when CICIG and the Attorney General's Office announced that they would seek the removal of his immunity so that they could pursue charges against the president for his party's alleged campaign financing irregularities in the 2015 election.
The Court's decision was an important win for the rule of law in Guatemala. Jimmy Morales has been an advocate for those invested in CICIG and the AG's failure. However, as everyone knows by now, corruption and organized crime go much deeper than Morales, and Otto Perez Molina before him. The retired military officers, and other criminal figures, who funded Morales' campaign, will move on. They don't care about Perez Molina or Morales. They were simply vehicles through which to defend impunity.
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