Salvadoran AG wants US Congress to be the muscle
From Insight Crime
I thought that they were putting too much faith in a single individual, especially when his selection seemed to be held up by groups not wanting to appoint an independent and capable attorney general. They also seemed to be purposely misreading developments in Guatemala. I don't know what would have happened had there only been one of Paz y Paz or CICIG, They both made each other better. In addition to helping the public prosecutor's office, CICIG also provided assistance to the police and executive, legislative, and judicial branches. That seems to have been forgotten in the case of El Salvador.
I'm cheering for Melendez. I hope he means well. Perhaps the US congress can provide protection to Melendez and others committed to reform in El Salvador, protection a CICIES would have been able to provide.
El Salvador Attorney General Douglas Meléndez is still catching heat from well-connected pressure groups upset with the Public Ministry's pursuit of corruption cases, a letter he wrote to members of the US Congress indicates.
InSight Crime obtained a copy of a March 18, 2016, letter from Meléndez to six US lawmakers. The letter came in response to a February 4 note from the legislators offering the newly installed attorney general their support.
"I should mention another concern of mine, which is the intention of groups outside the institution to interfere in cases involving corruption and probity, in ongoing investigations or future investigations," Meléndez wrote.At the recent conference I attended, several Salvadorans argued that their country did not need a CICIES in order to tackle endemic corruption. All they needed was a attorney general determined to right the ship in El Salvador. More than one person said this but I honestly can't remember if it was Ruben Zamora, Armando Calderon Sol, Hugo Martinez, or someone else. It was definitely more than one.
I thought that they were putting too much faith in a single individual, especially when his selection seemed to be held up by groups not wanting to appoint an independent and capable attorney general. They also seemed to be purposely misreading developments in Guatemala. I don't know what would have happened had there only been one of Paz y Paz or CICIG, They both made each other better. In addition to helping the public prosecutor's office, CICIG also provided assistance to the police and executive, legislative, and judicial branches. That seems to have been forgotten in the case of El Salvador.
I'm cheering for Melendez. I hope he means well. Perhaps the US congress can provide protection to Melendez and others committed to reform in El Salvador, protection a CICIES would have been able to provide.
Post a Comment