International
Guatemalan prosecutors and justice operators lack security guarantees in province
October 24 |
The kidnapping 29 days ago of a prosecutor and two investigators from the Public Ministry (MP) in Tajumulco, San Marcos, reveals the vulnerability of the investigators in the province.
This situation is caused by several factors, such as insufficient support from the National Civil Police (PNC) and the dominance that criminal structures have over municipal and departmental authorities, according to a former secretary of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and an analysis of the situation by the Pro-Justice Movement.
On September 25, a prosecutor and two investigators from the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) were kidnapped by residents of the village of Tuinimá, Tajumulco, San Marcos, who demanded the closure of the municipal headquarters of the MP in Tajumulco and the release of two people linked to the crime of an army colonel.
As of yesterday, the MP workers had been in this situation for 28 days. According to the official report of the auxiliary of the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, the reason for the kidnapping is because the victims were carrying out a field inspection related to the theft of electricity.
“Being a prosecutor at the municipal or departmental level is different from being a prosecutor in Guatemala City,” says Javier Monterroso, ex-secretary of the MP, who affirms that the prosecutors and investigators assigned in the province work with many “precariousnesses” and normally only investigate common crimes, so as not to enter into confrontation with the inhabitants or put themselves at risk from organized crime.
“Their work is more complicated because there are fewer PNC agents and MP personnel, but in addition, many members of the security forces themselves are committed to the powers that be, politicians and drug traffickers,” Monterroso said.
He also states that in the province, municipal and departmental authorities depend a lot on the criminal structures in the region, and for this reason, when it comes to investigating criminal structures, prosecutors are asked not to be from the department so that there are no reprisals, and they opt to bring prosecutors from the capital city, in addition to the support of the army.
“But even so, prosecutors are very vulnerable because of the above situations and when they are retained by the population, they are tied up and beaten on the orders of community leaders or organized crime,” says Monterroso.
The former secretary of the MP says that even some of the workers who have been retained have said that they are subjected to psychological abuse, when they are threatened that they will be burned and “they show them or gasoline”.
Retention of personnel, according to Monterroso, has occurred most frequently when investigating illegal electricity connections or when tracking poppy plantations.
For Carmen Aída Ibarra, director of Movimiento ProJusticia, these events are more recurrent in Huehuetenango and San Marcos, mainly in the border areas with Mexico, due to the presence of drug trafficking.
“In some places, the economy of the communities depends on illegal crops and contraband, and the physical integrity of the prosecutors is at risk,” said Ibarra.
The researcher and expert in the justice sector reiterates that there are communities where the population rejects the presence of the PNC and the MP and prefers to act according to their rules, often to defend the interests of organized crime or the community itself, “when the local economy is affected”.
Ibarra affirms that the lack of security guarantees for prosecutors and investigators of the MP in the province is compounded by the fear of being removed or dismissed.
“In 2021 there was a series of transfers and removals that affect them, because they are sent far from their residence. They live in fear, because they do not know when they will be transferred or dismissed,” said Ibarra.
International
Seven bodies found with signs of torture in Sinaloa
Mexican authorities discovered seven lifeless bodies on Wednesday, showing clear signs of torture, in the rural area of Culiacán, Sinaloa, just one day after the same number of bodies was found in several municipalities in the western state of Mexico.
Six of these seven victims were found along the side of the highway that connects Culiacán to Mazatlán, near Laguna de Canachi, according to local media reports, which also noted that messages addressed to a criminal group were found near the bodies.
This brings the total number of violent deaths in the region to seven within just 24 hours. On Tuesday, authorities reported more victims found in the municipalities of Culiacán, Elota, and Mazatlán.
Among the victims identified was a local cattle rancher named Ramón Velázquez Ontiveros, as well as a police officer from Mazatlán, who was killed by a motorcyclist outside his home in San Marcos.
International
Málaga paralyzed by new storm as torrential rains hit Spain
Thousands of people were evacuated and trains were suspended as torrential rains once again struck Spain on Wednesday, following the devastating floods that killed at least 223 people two weeks ago, most of them in the Valencia region.
The national meteorological agency (Aemet) issued a maximum, red-level alert for the Andalusian province of Málaga in the south, and for Tarragona in the northeast, due to the new DANA (isolated depression at high levels), also known as a cold drop.
The city of Málaga appeared to be the hardest hit by the rains, with more than 3,000 people evacuated from 1,000 homes near rivers, flooded streets, and the suspension of urban transport and train services to Madrid.
“Today Málaga is paralyzed,” said Andalusia’s regional president, Juan Manuel Moreno, to reporters. “I know it is a problem for citizens not being able to take their children to school or go to work, but after what we saw in Valencia, we need to ‘prevent’ and minimize the impact in terms of loss of life,” he added.
The storm also led to the postponement of a match between Spain and Poland in the Billie Jean King Cup women’s tennis competition, which was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Málaga.
International
Hezbollah launches explosive drone strike on Israel’s defense headquarters
The Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah claimed on Wednesday that it launched an attack with explosive drones against the Israeli army’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.
The Iran-backed organization reported in a statement that it had carried out “an aerial attack with a squadron of explosive drones” targeting the site that houses Israel’s main defense institutions.
Hezbollah later stated that it also fired a barrage of rockets at the Glilot military intelligence base in the suburbs of Tel Aviv.
The Israeli military indicated that “sirens sounded in several areas of northern and central Israel following the launch of projectiles from Lebanon.”
It later clarified that “five projectiles were identified over the territory, and some were intercepted.”
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