{"id":10743,"date":"2023-05-17T20:24:36","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T04:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=10743"},"modified":"2023-05-17T20:24:36","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T04:24:36","slug":"the-elections-of-corruption-and-drug-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/the-elections-of-corruption-and-drug-trafficking\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"The elections of corruption and drug trafficking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guatemala is getting ready for one more election; in the 2023 elections the Supreme Electoral Court allowed the registration of candidates accused of drug trafficking and corruption. In this country, deciding who to vote for is increasingly difficult because the options are discouraging, thus citizens must carefully evaluate and remember the past of those who seek power.<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 25, Guatemalans will elect national representatives according to a closed electoral list, district representatives (depending on the electoral district in which you vote), mayor and city councilmen, members of the Central American Parliament, and two presidential and vice presidential candidates that will move forward to the second round of elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to the elections, media sources have been sharing stories about the criminal backgrounds of candidates like Roderico Eleazar Ramos Aguilar, mayoral candidate from Esquipulas Palo Gordo, San Marcos, who has been accused of drug trafficking and money laundering. Ramos\u2019s brother, Exadillas, is also linked to drug trafficking and yet remains mayor of El Rodeo de San Marcos and wants to continue in power with the political party Vamos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The brothers are not alone\u2013 in Chiquimula, the mayor of Ipala, Esdu\u00edn Jerson Javier Javier, has plans to represent the electoral district with the political party Cambio. Javier Javier is known as \u201cTres Kiebres\u201d and is linked to a municipal drug trafficking case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another candidate linked to drug trafficking is Elisa Judith Mej\u00eda Salazar de Rozotto, who seeks to be the representative of Santa Rosa for the political party Prosperidad Ciudadana. She is the wife of Juan Bautista Rozotto L\u00f3pez, frequently known by his nickname \u201cJuancho, one of the leaders of the drug-trafficking gang Las Huistas. The organization operates in the northern region of the country along routes that connect with Mexico.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In all regions of Guatemala, there are candidates linked to drug trafficking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another frequent scenario is that the candidates that already have been in power over longer periods of time have been accused of corruption but have benefited from the lack of strong laws and impunity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This, for example, is the case of Sergio Guillermo Enr\u00edquez Garzaro, accused of money laundering and embezzlement in the municipality of Chicam\u00e1n, Quich\u00e9. He is the son of Sergio Enr\u00edquez, the leader of the evangelical church Ministerios Ebenezer and is candidate for the third district in the closed electoral list for the political party Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another candidate with a history of corruption and being against human rights is Allan Rodriguez\u2013 representative of the city Solol\u00e1\u2013 who was sanctioned by the Magnitsky Law from the United States, which allows the United States government to sanction foreign government officials who have been implicated in human rights abuses anywhere in the world. He was accused of using his authority as president of the Guatemalan congress to award construction grants in return for financial bribes and votes in Congress in return for money. Now, he wants to continue as representative of Solol\u00e1 with the political party Vamos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Carlos Enrique L\u00f3pez G\u00edron, a political bigwig from Quich\u00e9, hopes to return to parliament with Vamos as well, and was accused of unregistered electoral financing and 17 empty seats<\/span> in Congress. In both instances, the cases were dismissed by the judge Claudette Dom\u00ednguez, whose son is also in the Congress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Candidates with these types of irregularities in their background can even be found among the candidates for president, with the registration of Zury R\u00edos as a presidential candidate for the political party Valor has been called into question due to the reputation of his father, Efra\u00edn R\u00edos Montt, one of the men responsible for the genocide against the indigenous people living in Ixil, a northern region of Guatemala.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does all of this affect the citizenry? The Inter-American Human Rights Commission states that corruption related to the management of public resources compromises the ability of governments to complete their obligations to attend to social rights, including healthcare, education, water access, transportation, and sanitation. These social rights are essential in order to ensure the economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights of all people, especially populations and groups that are more vulnerable.<\/span><\/p>\n

While drug trafficking is linked to impunity in human rights violations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Corruption and drug trafficking also infringe upon one of the most basic human rights: freedom of expression.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guatemala is getting ready for one more election; in the 2023 elections the Supreme Electoral Court allowed the registration of candidates accused of drug trafficking and corruption. In this country, deciding who to vote for is increasingly difficult because the options are discouraging, thus citizens must carefully evaluate and remember the past of those who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[453,455,424,1806],"tags":[4281,947,4280,4279,966,979,946,4282],"class_list":["post-10743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-frontpage-en","category-pagetwo-en","category-politics","category-social-situation","tag-candidates","tag-corruption","tag-environmental-rights-of-all-people","tag-general-elections","tag-government","tag-policy","tag-president","tag-votes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_0204.jpg?fit=2000%2C1334&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-2Nh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3314,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/corruption\/the-public-ministry-is-investigating-president-morales-fcn-party-for-receiving-campaign-contributions-from-a-drug-trafficker\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":10743,"position":0},"title":"The Public Ministry is investigating President Morales\u2019 FCN party for drug trafficker campaign donations","author":"EntreMundos","date":"24 agosto, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Two Prosecutors\u2019 Offices have opened three investigations into the political party that led Jimmy Morales to the presidency in 2015. By Ferdy Montepeque of El Peri\u00f3dico This article originally appeared in Spanish on elperiodico.com.gt and is republished here with permission. The Public Ministry\u2019s Money Laundering Prosecutor\u2019s Office is investigating the\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCorruption\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/corruption\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11070,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/exercising-responsible-citizenship\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":10743,"position":1},"title":"Exercising responsible citizenship","author":"EntreMundos","date":"20 julio, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Samuel Alvarez Morales The week before the presidential elections, Prensa Libre\u2019s poll showed that Sandra Torres, UNE\u2019s candidate, would reach the second round, and Guatemalans waited to see who she would face. Everyone thought it would be Edmond Mulet or perhaps Zury R\u00edos herself, but, surprisingly, it was Bernardo Ar\u00e9valo\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abMoney in Politics\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Money in Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/money-in-politics\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/305317831_564609572126053_9184223796612708360_n-1.jpg?fit=960%2C522&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/305317831_564609572126053_9184223796612708360_n-1.jpg?fit=960%2C522&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/305317831_564609572126053_9184223796612708360_n-1.jpg?fit=960%2C522&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/305317831_564609572126053_9184223796612708360_n-1.jpg?fit=960%2C522&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10740,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/corruption\/challenges-of-electoral-observation\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":10743,"position":2},"title":"Challenges of electoral observation","author":"EntreMundos","date":"17 mayo, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This year\u2019s general election is unique in Guatemalan history. Since the start of the democratic era, there has never been a greater risk of manipulation and anomalies in the election process.\u00a0 The questioning of the electoral authority over the use of discretion in the registration of candidates, the integration of\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCorruption\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/corruption\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_0229-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_0229-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_0229-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_0229-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_0229-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1826,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/drug-money-in-elections-cicig-reports\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":10743,"position":3},"title":"Drug money in the 2011 elections: The CICIG report","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 noviembre, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"EntreMundos Analysis - September, 2015 In the city of Ipala, in Chiquimula, there was only one candidate for mayor running with a local civic group: Esduin Jerson Javier Javier, a.k.a. \u201cTres Quiebres.\u201d The other candidates dropped out after receiving death threats. The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) cites\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCorruption\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/corruption\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1864,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/political-finance-in-guatemala-the-cicig-report\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":10743,"position":4},"title":"Campaign Finance in Guatemala’s 2011 elections: The CICIG Report","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 noviembre, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Photo: CICIG chief Iv\u00e1n Vel\u00e1squez, from Colombia. By Richard Brown - Editor, EntreMundos The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) of the United Nations reports in its July, 2015 investigation that in Guatemala \u201cmost political finance is illegal and comes largely from corruption\u201d (p. 18). The Electoral Supreme Court\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCorruption\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/corruption\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig-presenta-informe.jpg?fit=770%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig-presenta-informe.jpg?fit=770%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig-presenta-informe.jpg?fit=770%2C470&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig-presenta-informe.jpg?fit=770%2C470&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1958,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/an-inclusive-reform-analysis-of-the-elections-and-political-parties-law\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":10743,"position":5},"title":"An inclusive reform? Analysis of the Law of Elections and Political Parties","author":"EntreMundos","date":"11 noviembre, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"By Dr. Walter Hillermann - Professor of economics and consultant for community development projects for more than 30 years - November 2015 Guatemala\u2019s democracy is indirect, operating through elected representatives to whom the people delegate power. We hope that our representatives make the best decisions for the common good. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abPolitics\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/img_4662.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/img_4662.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/img_4662.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/img_4662.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/img_4662.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10744,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10743\/revisions\/10744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}