Guatemala in grip of 'mafia coalition', says UN body in scathing corruption report

[Judi Lynn]

Cicig says in final report before mandate expires corruption ‘cannot be solved without profound restructuring of the state’
Associated Press in Guatemala City
Wed 28 Aug 2019 17.09 EDT



Jimmy Morales accused the body of overreaching its authority last year, after the commission brought investigations against him, some of his relatives and his inner circle. Photograph: Reuters

A UN commission that spent the last 12 years investigating graft in Guatemala has described the country as “captured” by corruption in its final report, days before it is set to wrap up operations after President Jimmy Morales refused to renew its mandate.

The commission, known as Cicig for its initials in Spanish, said in its final report that there is a “mafia coalition” among members of government, the business community and private individuals that is “willing to sacrifice Guatemala’s present and future to guarantee impunity and preserve the status quo”.

The commission chief Iván Velásquez, a Colombian lawyer who has been barred by Morales’ government from entering Guatemala, said via video conference from Colombia that the report would be the commission’s last public act.

“We almost got to the nucleus of the structures that have captured the state,” Velásquez said. “This cannot be solved without a profound restructuring of the state.”

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/28/guatemala-corruption-mafia-coalition-jimmy-morales