Chipping away at Guatemala's anti-impunity body

Angelika Albaladejo has a great op-ed for CNN with Guatemala's corruption should be at the top of Trump's agenda.

Morales and other Guatemalan elites accused of corruption are likely thrilled that the previously solid US support for the CICIG is being dented by new opposition in both the White House and Congress. But among Guatemalans, the anti-corruption body is the country's most trusted institution.

If the Trump administration and the US Congress truly want to address gang violence and reduce the number of Central American migrants turning to the United States as a safe haven, ending corruption should be at the top of their agenda. If recent developments are any indication, it looks like that's unfortunately far from the case.

Much of the story is well-known to those following Guatemalan politics but @AAlbaladejo does a really nice job picking up on some of the connections among those people surrounding Morales and Trump that rarely make it into English-language coverage. The Guatemalan government hired a firm connected to Vice President Mike Pence to lobby on its behalf. Guatemalan officials traveled to Israel in a plane owned by Trump donor Sheldon Adelson.