Guatemala: Vice President from the US visits Guatemala. Roxana Baldetti the big absence

Vice President from the US visits Guatemala. Roxana Baldetti the big absence

courtesy: NomadaGT

On March the 2nd, the Vice President from the United States, Joe Biden, made his second visit to Guatemala. He was supposed to have a reunion with the members of the Northern triangle of Central America to discuss matters of financing and prioritizing a regional plan to stop the immigration, increase the public security and also against corruption.

The visit lasted three days, having a very rigorous protocol schedule to fulfill all the activities they were supposed to cover. It's important to mention, that this second visit was slightly different from the first one, due to the fact that Guatemalan Vice President, Roxana Baldetti, was left out from all the activities.

During the visit held on 2014, the protocol was that the Guatemalan Vice President had to welcome and receive its similar from the United States. This time, things were completely different, the one in charge of receiveng Mr. Biden was Guatemala's President Otto Perez Molina with his wife Rosa Leal. Therefore, the abrupt change has created a lot of expectations as well as versions of what may have happened.

The official party, gave a public conference to provide an explanation about the Vice President's absence saying that  Baldetti was in a trip in Europe, without specifying the details on the purpose of the trip. Prensa Libre said she was supporting one of his sons in the US because he was suffering from severe injuries and he needed medical treatment.

Nevertheless, there are other versions of the story. In a non official statement, it has been said that the organizers of the event wanted Roxana Baldetti out of any activities with Mr. Biden. It's known that he even brought his wife, so the protocol would've demanded the presence of Otto Perez Molina's wife rather than the Vice President's. There are two different theories about this request. Firstly, because it has been said that she was trying to persuade the congress to remove CICIG (an institution against crime and corruption from ONU)  from Guatemala, and the US wants the institution to keep working in Guatemala. Secondly, because Roxana Baldetti seem to have strong connections with the drug trafficker known as "La Reina del Sur" Marlloy Chacon. Apparently, an important character of international affairs, such as Joe Biden, cant afford to share public activities with someone accused and being investigated for corruption.

 

Guatemala: Gun attack against two journalists

Journalists murder under suspicious conditions

source: Prensa Libre

On Tuesday, March the 10th, two journalists were shot to death in Suchitepequez, Mazatenango. According to eye witnesses, three journalists, Jose Danilo Lopez from Prensa Libre, Federico Salazar and Marvin Tunchez from Radio Nuevo Mundo were walking in the park and all of a sudden, two suspects approached them in a blue motorcycle, and attacked them with shot guns. Lopez and Salazar died in the scene, while Tunchez was taken to a local hospital severely injured.

According to the first investigations, there's a version that a third person was involved and in charge of letting the attackers in motorcyle know when to make the attack. One of the suspects was captured by the police in a nearby area.

This case have had a lot of attention from the media because one of the journalists involved had been threatened since 2008  for making some notes on San Lorenzo Suchitepequez Mayor, Jose Linares Rojas and Juan Manuel Delgado, former Mazatenango's mayor. According to a written claim made by Danilo Lopez in July 9th, 2013, he was warned by the mayor that if he didn't quit publishing about him, he would face terrible consequences because he was dealing with someone "with power and money."

The reports written by Jose Danilo Lopez are about Q2.8 million missing from the municipality and that the mayor reported were invested in public constructions. Is not known yet if the attack had to do with some reports the journalists were about to publish about the same mayor or if they would have been working in involving a bigger net of corruption in that Department.

Guatemalan Press Association and other activists have been working on paceful marchs demanding respect for life, profession and freedom of speech.