José Luis Sanz interviews Judge Erika Aifán after she had gone into exile after a long, and concerted, series of attacks on her integrity and the integrity of the Guatemala judicial system. It is available in El Faro, as is… Read More ›
Corruption
Forbidden Stories – Mining Secrets
Forbidden Stories presented Mining Secrets, a leak of thousands of documents, shared by hacking collective ‘Guacamaya Roja’, that comes from mining giant Solway in Guatemala. The leak of more than eight million company documents revealed how the mining company, operating… Read More ›
‘Abandons its people’: Guatemala’s malnutrition crisis deepens
“Malnutrition is not just being hungry. Malnutrition is not having access to the basics of your human rights” Jeff Abbott writes in Al Jazeera about the scourge of malnutrition in Guatemala, especially among Indigenous peoples, and the complete indifference of… Read More ›
Crackdown on Guatemala Prosecutors Intensifies Amid Presidential Corruption Claims
Alex Papadovassilakis writes in InSight Crime on the continuing hollowing out of independent prosecutors who have been tackling the rampant corruption and impunity that is gripping Guatemala. With cries of corruption mounting against Guatemala’s president, the country’s Attorney General, Consuelo… Read More ›
Judicial Persecution of Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Increases
The latest update from Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC) features the arrests of six prosecutors who were investigating high-level corruption. Since February 10, the Guatemalan Public Ministry has issued seven arrests warrants for attorneys connected to the former International Commission… Read More ›
Audio – International court case pits mining interests against Indigenous land rights
Maria Martin hosts a short piece on NPR Radio on a court case being brought to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights by the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Agua Caliente Lote 9. She speaks with attorney Carlos Pop, representing the… Read More ›
This judge is one of the last U.S. allies in the Guatemala corruption fight. Politicians keep trying to sideline her.
Kevin Sieff writes in The Washington Post on the challenges facing an independent judiciary in Guatemala through the situation of Judge Erika Aifán and the ongoing State attempts at criminalisation. Her bravery is unquestioned and neither is the cowardice of… Read More ›
“Malnutrition in Guatemala is a political strategy”.
Noor Mahtani writes in El País, as part of their Planeta Futuro series, about the scourge of hunger among Indigenous children and the Government’s unwillingness to do anything that might change the future prospects of poor Guatemalans. Any errors in… Read More ›
Witness Accuses Guatemalan President of Funding Campaign with Construction Bribes
José Luis Sanz writes in El Faro about the sworn testimonies regarding bribery and campaign contributions relating to the election of President Alejandro Giammattei, and the attempts by the Attorney General’s office to put a brake to the investigations. It… Read More ›
The Origins of Racism in Guatemala — An Interview with Marta Elena Casaús Arzú on Anti-Indigenous Racism
Plaza Pública published an interview with Marta Elena Casaús Arzú in 2017 by Carlos Arrazola and the subsequent English translation was published in El Faro. It is a fascinating interview on race and racism in Guatemala. Marta Elena Casaús Arzú… Read More ›