CICIG mandate will not be renewed

On Friday, President Jimmy Morales announced that CICIG's mandate would not be renewed when it expires one year from now (September 2019). Even though CICIG has been instrumental in the fight against corruption and impunity in Guatemala, the decision not to renew its mandate was not unexpected. CICIG has been investigating President Morales and his family and allies for some time.

Various political and economic elites have found themselves in CICIG's cross-hairs and the Attorney General's Office. Morales spoke for them on Friday through his criticism of CICIG.

Morales accused the commission Friday of "violating our laws, inducing people and institutions to participate in acts of corruption and impunity," and "selective criminal prosecution with an ideological bias."

"Selective justice has been used to intimidate and terrorize the citizenry," he charged. "Judicial independence has been violated, with the intention of manipulating justice, actions that attack the presumption of innocence and due process."

Morales wanted to escape the situation that trapped his predecessor. Otto Perez Molina had no intention of renewing CICIG's mandate but was pressured into doing so by the people of Guatemala and international community. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested on corruption charges.

With one year to go in its mandate, Morales announced CICIG was over and that it should begin to transfer its resources and such to local authorities. However, he did so surrounded by dozens of police and military officials. He did so minutes after military jeeps took up positions outside CICIG's offices. He did so while telling local authorities that they must not obey "illegal orders," presumably those that involve investigations that touch Morales and his people.

Morales made it clear that from his perspective CICIG's work is done even if it remains physically present in the country for one more year.