Attacks against CICIG continue
After failing to have CICIG Commissioner Ivan Velasquez expelled from the country, the Guatemala government did not give up trying to neuter the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). As I mentioned in The Hill, it appears that President Morales is trying to use his country's decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem that had curried favor with the White House for assistance in renegotiating CICIG's mandate.
Another tool to weaken CICIG that I alluded to in the op-ed was the reassignment of police officers away from the hybrid entity. The officers were there for both protection and investigatory purposes. Their removal was ordered by Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart and appear to be part of a larger effort by the minister on behalf of sus padrinos mafiosos. El Periodico lays out a number of reasons to be concerned about Degenhart, while Hector Silva does the same for Insight Crime. Hector also looks at other government officials whose actions have undermined CICIG's work.
ProPublica published a flattering article on Degenhart two years ago in which he is portrayed as a hero in the country's immigration service. It's not really clear where the truth lies that would help us know when and if he went "bad." Probably not a coincidence but Degenhart was in charge of RENAP when illegal passports were issued - the sort of illegal passports that the Bitkov's purchased. The Bitkov saga is then what has driven Marco Rubio and Anastasia O'Grady to go after CICIG. Last I heard the US was "baffled" about what happened to their man Degenhart.
The only seemingly good news this week for the Guatemalan people, not necessarily the government, is that former US Ambassador to Guatemala Todd Robinson will be returning to Central America as an advisor to the State Department.
Another tool to weaken CICIG that I alluded to in the op-ed was the reassignment of police officers away from the hybrid entity. The officers were there for both protection and investigatory purposes. Their removal was ordered by Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart and appear to be part of a larger effort by the minister on behalf of sus padrinos mafiosos. El Periodico lays out a number of reasons to be concerned about Degenhart, while Hector Silva does the same for Insight Crime. Hector also looks at other government officials whose actions have undermined CICIG's work.
ProPublica published a flattering article on Degenhart two years ago in which he is portrayed as a hero in the country's immigration service. It's not really clear where the truth lies that would help us know when and if he went "bad." Probably not a coincidence but Degenhart was in charge of RENAP when illegal passports were issued - the sort of illegal passports that the Bitkov's purchased. The Bitkov saga is then what has driven Marco Rubio and Anastasia O'Grady to go after CICIG. Last I heard the US was "baffled" about what happened to their man Degenhart.
The only seemingly good news this week for the Guatemalan people, not necessarily the government, is that former US Ambassador to Guatemala Todd Robinson will be returning to Central America as an advisor to the State Department.
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