Guatemala hurtled into political turmoil this week after the nation’s top court blocked President Jimmy Morales’ attempts to expel a U.N. anti-corruption official Sunday – days after the official said he was moving against the premier.
Guatemalan voters elected Morales, a former comedian, into office in 2015 partly on the promise he would end the corruption that has plagued the Latin American country’s politics for years.
However, Morales has also been hit by claims of corruption, drawing the attention of Colombian prosecutor Iván Velásquez, who serves as the head of the U.N.’s International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
On Friday, Velásquez and the nation’s attorney general announced that they are seeking to strip Morales of his immunity from prosecution. Velásquez said approximately $825,000 of campaign financing to Morales’ National Convergence Front (FCN) during the 2015 election was hidden as well as other unexplained funding sources.
Morales then responded by seeking to expel Velásquez, a move that was temporarily blocked by the nation’s Constitutional Court on Sunday – a series of events that could quickly send the country, traditionally one of the region’s most corrupt, down a path to a constitutional crisis.
A number of ministers – including the foreign minister, health minister, and a top economic adviser – all stepped down, according to the New York Times. The threat of impeachment and prosecution now hang over Morales.
“We need some sort of help to fight the bad people there. [Morales] is controlled by narco-traffickers and organized crime and there are different strings being pulled behind him,” Guillermo Castillo, a former Morales campaign official told Breitbart News.
Morales’ attempt to expel Velásquez immediately drew international condemnation, with the normally soft-spoken United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres releasing a statement in which he said he was “shocked” at the development, which came days after Morales and Guterres had met at U.N. headquarters in New York City.
In remarks Tuesday at a press conference in the Palestinian territories, Guterres reiterated his opposition to the move as well as his “total support” for Velásquez.
“I believe that CICIG has done a very important job in creating conditions for good governance and to fight corruption in Guatemala. I expressed how shocked I was with the order that was given in relation to his departure from the country,” he said, adding that he hopes that the decision of the Constitutional Court is upheld.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley also condemned the attempted expulsion, calling it “deeply concerning.”
“As head of the [CICIG], Mr. Velásquez is a critical voice calling out corruption and upholding the rule of law. He has the full support of the United States and the international community,” Haley said in a statement Monday. “We expect the Guatemalan government to allow CICIG to do its critical work without interference. Fighting corruption is essential to the future security and prosperity of Guatemala, which is something we highly value.”
“We expect the Guatemalan government to allow CICIG to do its critical work without interference. Fighting corruption is essential to the future security and prosperity of Guatemala, which is something we highly value,” she said.
Castillo told Breitbart News that the cycle of corruption needs to be broken, a cycle he says is partly responsible for Guatemalans fleeing their home country for the U.S.
The main thing here to address is that the illicit funding of political parties has been the norm and that’s where all the presidents compromise themselves,” he said. “Instead of helping the people they help the special interests that the narcotraffickers have.”
“The corruption and the impunity are the main reasons people are fleeing Guatemala and if we don’t attack the heart of corruption and impunity, people will keep fleeing to the U.S,” he added.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY.
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