Guatemala ups persecution of those who pursued the corrupt

By SONIA PÉREZ D.
Associated Press

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The Guatemalan government’s effort to undo more than a decade of United Nations-backed anti-corruption work has moved beyond its borders, in what experts say is an election year attempt to assure conservative voters its like won’t be seen again. Guatemalan prosecutors announced their intention to pursue legal action against Colombian Iván Velásquez who led the U.N.’s anticorruption mission in Guatemala. Velásquez is now Colombia’s defense minister and under his guidance, prosecutors that the U.N. helped train dealt blow after blow to Guatemalan corruption over 12 years until the government refused to renew their mandate in 2019.