The former president of Guatemala, Otto Pérez Molina, is escorted to court in an image from 2016. Moises Castillo (AP)
Guatemalan justice initiated a process against former president Otto Pérez Molina, accused of having enriched himself during his term thanks to the formation of a sophisticated smuggling network in the country's customs. The case is known as
La Línea
and was uncovered by the now-defunct International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in 2015. Along with the retired general, former Vice President Roxana Badeltti is also being prosecuted. The process is taking place at a time when Guatemalan justice is struggling to maintain its independence.
The investigations of the CICIG and the Special Prosecutor Against Impunity began in May 2014, after receiving complaints that several groups of importers were privileged with special treatment by customs officials, who allowed the products to enter by circumventing the treasury. Thirty high-ranking state figures participated in this network, including retired captain Juan Carlos Monzón, who was private secretary to the vice presidency and directors of the Tax Administration Superintendence, SAT. As the investigators explained at the time, the case was called
La Línea
in reference to a telephone number that was the contact of the fraudsters with the officials who participated in the network.
The uncovering generated such indignation among the population that it unleashed the so-called Revolution of Dignity, with tens of thousands of Guatemalans demanding the resignation of corrupt officials. Pressured by the protests, Pérez Molina resigned on September 3, 2015 and a day later a local judge ordered preventive pressure against him. Roxana Baldetti was captured in August 2014 in a private hospital, where she had taken refuge citing health problems. Baldetti used the same strategy again on Monday, when he stated that he suffers from covid-19 symptoms and that his presence in court was a risk for workers.
The trial against both politicians is being held in High Risk Court B, where Pérez Molina arrived surrounded by thirty people and stated that he hopes to prove his innocence, because there is no evidence against him, reports Efe. Both are being prosecuted for illicit enrichment and other corruption charges.
The process against the former presidents takes place just when the alarms have gone off at the international level due to the persecution of prosecutors who are fighting corruption in Guatemala. A persecution that has caused several of these officials to go into exile. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report warned that "authorities are impeding transparency and threatening judicial independence." The agency cites the case of Juan Francisco Sandoval, who was Guatemala's anti-corruption prosecutor, but due to his investigations, the attorney general, Consuelo Porras, removed him from office. Sandoval had to leave Guatemala for El Salvador almost clandestinely on July 23, in a diplomatic car, escorted by the human rights attorney and the Swedish ambassador. The former official now lives in Washington,where four jurists – judges and prosecutors – internationally recognized for their fight against corruption, who had to flee Guatemala due to pressure and threats, have taken refuge along with others. In Washington, former Attorney General Thelma Aldana, former Court of Appeals Judge Claudia Escobar, former FECI Prosecutor Andrei González, and elected Constitutional Court (CC) Judge Gloria Porras also seek protection.the former FECI prosecutor Andrei González and the elected magistrate of the Constitutional Court (CC) Gloria Porras.the former FECI prosecutor Andrei González and the elected magistrate of the Constitutional Court (CC) Gloria Porras.
The persecution of these jurists worries the United States, which at the end of July decided to “temporarily” freeze cooperation with the Guatemalan Public Ministry. Washington had already expressed its discomfort at the dismissal of Sandoval, whom the US authorities had praised for his role in the fight against corruption. “In recent years, the investigations carried out by the CICIG (which ended its mandate in 2018) and the Public Ministry, exposed corruption plots in the three branches of government. However, measures recently adopted by Congress, the Public Ministry and other authorities hinder accountability and threaten judicial independence," warns HRW.
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