In August 2007, the Congress of the Republic approved the creation of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which arrived in the country with the mission of investigating criminal structures operating within government institutions, work done in association with the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The agreement that created CICIG was to be renewed by the current president of the United Nations. However, in September last year, in a scenario of multiple tensions between Commissioner Iván Velásquez and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, it was decided not to renew the mandate.

Prensalibre.com reports that "... Eduardo Stein, one of the promoters of CICIG, from the Vice-Presidency in the government of Óscar Berger (2004-2008), considers that the most relevant thing about the international entity is that it "revealed and exhibited the depth of the corruption that had taken root in the three branches of the State."

See “Corruption, Impunity and Politics”

For Eduardo Stein, one of the Commission's errors was that "... assumed political roles that did not correspond to him, for example, the way in which the reforms to the Constitution were promoted in 2017'."

According to risk-rater Moody's, the exit of the International Commission against Impunity weakens efforts to improve the rule of law in a country with high levels of corruption.

"While CICIG has made significant progress in uncovering criminal networks rooted within the state, corruption remains widespread in the country and institutions are fragile. The withdrawal of CICIG represents a major setback for the country, weakening efforts to strengthen institutions and improve the rule of law," argued Moody's at the beginning of 2019.

Source: prensalibre.com

More on this topic

Guatemala: CICIG's Withdrawal Impact

January 2019

For Moody's, the withdrawal of the International Commission against Impunity weakens efforts to improve the rule of law in a country with high levels of corruption.

For Moody's, President Morales' decision to end the mandate of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) is a setback for the country because corruption is still widespread and institutions are still fragile.

Setback Step for UN in Central America

January 2019

Arguing that "it has violated human rights in Guatemala through selective and partial justice", President Morales decided to end the mandate of the United Nations International Commission against Impunity.

After more than ten years of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), the Morales administration announced in 2018 that it would not renew the agreement with the United Nations that establishes the foreign institution dedicated to criminal investigation.

Guatemala: Goodbye, CICIG

September 2018

Arguing that it is time to "strengthen State institutions," President Morales has announced that he will not renew the mandate of the International Commission against Impunity, whose term expires in a year.

The controversial decision by the Guatemalan government, which was announced over the weekend, is based, according to Morales, on the idea that after ten years of work by the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), the time has come to transfer its capabilities over to the State.

Guatemala: Setback for President Morales

August 2017

The Constitutional Court has suspended, in definitive from, the order given by President Jimmy Morales to expel the leader of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala from the country.

"... Acting without the accompaniment of his ministers, as ordered by the Constitution, inconsistency in the dates and non use of the process to resolve disputes established in the agreement between the Government of Guatemala and the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig) are the main reasons why the Constitutional Court (CC) yesterday ordered the definitive suspension of the expulsion from the country of Iván Velásquez, head of the Cicig."