ASSESSMENTS

Guatemala Bristles Under Scrutiny

MIN READMay 12, 2016 | 21:48 GMT

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales (R) and Ivan Velasquez, commissioner of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, speak after a press conference in Guatemala City on October 28, 2015.

(JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Unease is growing among Guatemala's political elite. In April, the country's government agreed to extend the mandate for the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) until 2019. The CICIG, a U.N. investigative body with heavy backing from the U.S. government, conducted an investigation that led to the resignation of Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina in September 2015. Perez Molina stepped down after the CICIG found evidence of his involvement in a smuggling and tax evasion network. The effects of the case, which pitted the U.S.-backed group against members of the political elite entrenched in Guatemala's government, continue to be felt in the country seven months later as political disagreements over the initiative increase....

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