[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4502]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE RULE OF LAW IN GUATEMALA

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to call the Senate's attention to 
the current situation in Guatemala, where upholding the rule of law has 
too often been the exception rather than the rule.
  For centuries, most Guatemalans had no access to justice. This was 
exacerbated during--and in the years since--the civil war, when an 
estimated 200,000 people were killed or disappeared. Most of them were 
innocent victims of the armed forces, and only a small number of the 
military officers and their accomplices who were responsible have been 
punished. In fact, the armed forces and their benefactors have for the 
most part successfully avoided justice, by threatening prosecutors and 
witnesses and paying off judges.
  At the same time, Guatemala is experiencing the corrosive effects of 
drug gangs, smugglers, and organized crime. Former President Perez 
Molina is under arrest, and other high-ranking officials have been 
implicated in corruption. Rampant gang violence and a lack of job 
opportunities have caused tens of thousands of Guatemalans, including 
unaccompanied minors, to seek safety and employment in the United 
States.
  Two individuals, Thelma Aldana, Guatemala's Attorney General, and 
Ivan Velasquez, the head of CICIG, the International Commission Against 
Impunity in Guatemala, have been courageously investigating these high-
profile cases and working diligently to bring those responsible to 
justice. Both are respected former judges, Aldana a Guatemalan and 
Velasquez a Colombian.
  The United States, with the support of Democrats and Republicans in 
Congress, has provided funding to both of their offices.
  It is difficult, dangerous work. They have received anonymous threats 
in an attempt to intimidate them, and there is a concern that President 
Morales may oppose the renewal of Mr. Velasquez's term of duty, which 
ends in September, or request the U.N. Secretary General to remove or 
replace Mr. Velasquez.
  This would be of great concern because no democracy can survive 
without the rule of law, and there can be no rule of law without 
independent investigators, prosecutors, and judges.
  In Guatemala, with its history of impunity, Thelma Aldana and Ivan 
Velasquez are making history by showing the Guatemalan people that 
justice is possible. It is possible even in cases in which the 
perpetrators are high-ranking government officials, members of their 
families, or others with wealth and power who have long evaded justice.
  Guatemala needs our support to reduce poverty and malnutrition, 
improve education, combat crime, reform the police, and strengthen its 
economy and public institutions, but none of that can be achieved or 
sustained without political will and a transparent, accountable justice 
system. I know this from my own experience, first as a prosecutor, and 
more recently as the senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  I have been here a long time, in fact longer than any other Senator. 
I know Guatemala's history and the daunting challenges it faces. Its 
people deserve better, and they need leaders who respect the rule of 
law.
  If Guatemala's leaders support Thelma Aldana and Ivan Velasquez for 
as long they are willing to make the personal sacrifice and continue 
their important work, we will do our part by supporting the Alliance 
for Prosperity, but if there are attempts to undermine or curtail the 
work of these two outstanding prosecutors, then Guatemala's leaders 
should look elsewhere for support.

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