The Winter 2025 edition of El Quetzal, from The Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC), has recently been published. In it, they explore the implications of a co-opted justice system and the necessity of change, sharing the views of the Indigenous… Read More ›
Juan Francisco Sandoval
GHRC – El Quetzal
The Winter 2024 edition of El Quetzal, from The Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC), has recently been published. It features an interview with Juan Francisco Sandoval, who was the head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) from 2015… 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 ›
More Dismantling Of Human Rights In Guatemala
News came through, the other day, of yet more egregious dismantling of the Guatemala judiciary in favour of promoting impunity for crimes against humanity. AP announced that: Guatemala’s attorney general has transferred the prosecutor leading the office that took former… Read More ›
The Forced Exile
Juan Francisco Sandoval wrote a piece for the ‘Justice in the Americas’ blog of the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF). The blog contains versions in Spanish and in English. On March 5, 2003, I joined Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office… Read More ›
Who Controls Justice’s Sword?
El Faro English recently put out a note reflecting on the state of the judiciary in Central America, and highlighting the various to and fros with the U.S. State Department. In relation to Guatemala, the focus is, of course, on… Read More ›
To The Public
The former head of FECI, Juan Francisco Sandoval released a statement, from exile, in which he responded to attacks from the Attorney General. The statement is above and any errors in translation are mine. To The Public: The Attorney General,… Read More ›
Threats to the rule of law in Guatemala are getting serious
Sanne Weber and Marlies Stappers recently wrote in Open Democracy about the ongoing challenges facing the rule of law and the protection of human rights from the corrupt elites. This year, which marks the 25th anniversary of the peace accords… Read More ›
Guatemala’s Government Is Defying Biden’s Anti-Corruption Efforts
Jeff Abbott writes a column in The Progressive, The Other Americans, and this is from his latest piece. The Guatemalan government, helmed by President Alejandro Giammattei, continues to impede the country’s institutions meant to combat official corruption. While these attempts… Read More ›
Biden Faces a Trade-Off: Stop Corruption, or Migration?
President Biden promised to attack corruption in Central America head on, but that goal has taken a back seat to cooperating on stopping migrants from the region. Natalie Kitroeff writes in the New York Times about the challenges facing anti-corruption… Read More ›