Wednesday, January 22, 2025
21.0°F

Guatemala pol wants probe of UN anti-corruption commission

Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 5 years AGO
| January 10, 2020 2:35 PM

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The head of a congressional commission in Guatemala says prosecutors should open a criminal investigation into the now-disappeared U.N. anti-corruption commission known as the CICG.

President Jimmy Morales forced the commission out of Guatemala, and his supporters have accused it of using strong-arm tactics in corruption probes that included Morales' relatives.

Rep. Juan Ramón Lau heads a congressional commission that heard testimony from people caught up in corruption probes about the alleged abuses.

Lau's commission sent a report to prosecutors Friday recommending they open criminal investigations into former CICIG employees, as well as Guatemalan anti-corruption agents.

The CICIG won praise for bringing corruption cases against hundreds of the country’s powerful and privileged, including two ex-presidents and then-sitting President Otto Pérez Molina, who remains behind bars.

It is unlikely prosecutors can act before President-elect Alejandro Giammattei takes office on Jan. 14.

MORE IMPORTED STORIES

Signs that Guatemala's justice system is under attack
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 4 years, 6 months ago
Guatemala: Ex-economy minister sought on graft charges
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 5 years ago
Ex-Guatemala prosecutor granted asylum in U.S.
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 4 years, 11 months ago