Former Guatemalan vice president convicted and sentenced in Magic Waters scandal
Earlier today former Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison on a variety of corruption charges, including fraud, illicit association and influence peddling, related to the Lake Amatitlán "Magic Water" scandal.
Baldetti's conviction and sentence is a significant victory for the country's criminal justice system. With CICIG's assistance, Guatemalan prosecutors successfully brought one of the country’s highest ranking political officials to justice for defrauding the state of millions of dollars. Its prosecutors succeeded in front of Guatemalan judges in spite of repeated attempts by Baldetti’s lawyers and her allies to obstruct and delegitimize their efforts.
The successful resolution of the “Magic Water” case demonstrates how important collaboration between Guatemalan prosecutors and the international commission has been to strengthening the rule of law in the country and how important it is for their work to continue.
You can read my comments in Former Guatemala VP Sentenced to Jail Time on Corruption Charges by Parker Asmann for InSight Crime.
Baldetti's conviction and sentence is a significant victory for the country's criminal justice system. With CICIG's assistance, Guatemalan prosecutors successfully brought one of the country’s highest ranking political officials to justice for defrauding the state of millions of dollars. Its prosecutors succeeded in front of Guatemalan judges in spite of repeated attempts by Baldetti’s lawyers and her allies to obstruct and delegitimize their efforts.
The successful resolution of the “Magic Water” case demonstrates how important collaboration between Guatemalan prosecutors and the international commission has been to strengthening the rule of law in the country and how important it is for their work to continue.
You can read my comments in Former Guatemala VP Sentenced to Jail Time on Corruption Charges by Parker Asmann for InSight Crime.
Post a Comment