President Jimmy Morales’s action to expel the head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), Iván Velásquez Gómez, represents a major blow to efforts to fight corruption and impunity in Guatemala. As U.S.-based civil society organizations, we believe that U.S. taxpayer dollars should not be granted to a government that turns its back on addressing massive corruption and building a stronger justice system. We commend the Guatemalan Constitutional Court’s decision to review the President’s action and urge the President to abide by this court ruling. We urge the Guatemalan government to reconsider this decision to expel the head of CICIG and to pledge to work with CICIG and the Attorney General, Thelma Aldana, and other brave and committed members of the judicial system to build a more just Guatemala. We also urge the Guatemalan government to respect the right of the Guatemalan people to peaceful protest and assembly.
Signed:
Alianza Americas
Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Latin America Working Group (LAWG)
Peace Brigades International-USA
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
