News related to Guatemala typically doesn’t generate
much buzz with foreign-policy analysts or international media. However, if
there is a tie-in to Donald Trump, it has a chance of gaining exposure.
Unfortunately, a brilliant report by McClatchy didn’t
receive the attention that it deserved. It pointed to an underhanded diplomacy
gesture by the Trump administration to minimize Guatemala’s independent
anti-corruption organization, CICIG.
Long story short, the extensive corruption within the
Guatemalan government prompted the creation of the CICIG, which is backed by
the U.N. The list of high-level Guatemalan officials who have caught in these
types of scandals is quite lengthy. It includes the ex-Presidents, Otto Perez
Molina, Alvaro Colom, and Alfonso Portillo.
Likewise, the former Vice President, Roxana Baldetti,
is facing corruption charges, along with allegations that she accepted a
$250,000 bribe from the Zetas cartel. The former Minister of the Interior also
allegedly accepted a $1.5 million bribe from Los Zetas.
Again, this list can go on forever. Hence, there’s an
absolute necessity to maintain the strength and independence of the CICIG.
However, the President of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales, has taken several measures
to tear down this institution.
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| Jimmy Morales - Flickr - US Embassy in Guatemala |
In particular, Morales tried to deport the head of the
CICIG, Ivan Velasquez, who is a Colombian. The reason being, Morales and his
family are the targets of a wide range of political scandals. Much like Trump,
he has tried to paint these scandals as “fake news.” They range
from money laundering, links to drug traffickers, corruption, campaign finance
laws, and more.
Anyhow, did the thought of deporting the head of the
CICIG remind you of the Comey firing? Well, there are numerous other apt
comparisons. In fact, there are too many to list in a blog post. However, I
have an article with openDemocracy, “Trump-style Latin American Leaders,” which
details the many uncanny resemblances between the Trump and Morales
administrations. (A series of sexual assault allegations have been directed at
Morales since that article was published.)
Morales responded, in kind, by moving the Guatemalan
embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and that certainly showed solidarity with Trump.
With that in mind, the McClatchy article pointed to pressure exerted by the
Trump administration to weaken the CICIG in a variety of ways. All in all, this
is another example of the disgraceful transactional foreign policy of the Trump
administration.
Even more despicable is the administration that is
being enabled by the U.S. government. A recent article, “The Assassinations of
Indigenous Leaders in Guatemala Trigger Fear as Political Cycle Begins,” in Truthout by Jeff Abbott absolutely drives home
the point.
I’d definitely recommend reading that article, along with the aforementioned McCarthy article, to
understand the extreme implications associated with this decision
by the Trump administration. Unfortunately, it falls in line with so many other
disastrous foreign policy decisions that have propped up so many tyrants, kleptocrats,
dictators, etc.
