CICIG and Russia

Rachel Schwartz takes a look at what is happening in Guatemala in the Monkey Cage with her post on "Is Russia meddling in Guatemala’s anti-corruption commission? The real story might surprise you."

The accusations have provided CICIG opponents in Guatemala an opening to sabotage the CICIG itself — and curb Guatemala’s struggle against corruption and impunity. The Bitkovs’ lawyers, for instance, concede that there are forces within Guatemala that have “taken advantage” of their conviction to promote an anti-CICIG agenda, and ultimately threaten progress toward strengthening the rule of law.

But the Bitkov case is emblematic of another troubling reality. As concerns over Russian meddling in the political affairs of other countries continue to mount, so too will the opportunities for political actors to seize on conspiracies that appear to involve the Kremlin, as a means of furthering their own interests.

It’s not difficult to imagine similar scenarios unfolding elsewhere in the world. The suggestion of a Kremlin plot, no matter how spurious, can easily play into the hands of entrenched political interests. Perhaps this is the greatest lesson of the Bitkov case: Efforts to expose and punish Russian meddling can have a dark underside.

CICIG and the Attorney General have often been lampooned as some sort of leftist conspiracy by people on the right in Guatemala. While there's no evidence for such characterizations, it has always been encouraging that the US government did not fall for such efforts to discredit CICIG and the MP's office.

I have been relatively satisfied with the Trump administration's support for CICIG, especially given some of the conspiracy theories peddled by those on the fringes of the US right. I know - it was a low bar. Honestly, however, I didn't expect Rubio to fall for their deceptions.

Whether Guatemala succeeds in its battle against corruption is largely up to the Guatemalan people. However, success in building the rule of law is more likely with the support of CICIG and the international community.

See also Elisabeth Malkin with the New York Times and Steven Dudley and Felipe Puerta with InSight Crime.