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
Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”
The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.
“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.
The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.
His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”
International
Miyazaki’s style goes viral with AI but at what cost?
This week, you may have noticed that everything—from historical photos and classic movie scenes to internet memes and recent political moments—has been reimagined on social media as Studio Ghibli-style portraits. The trend quickly went viral thanks to ChatGPT and the latest update of OpenAI’s chatbot, released on Tuesday, March 25.
The newest addition to GPT-4o has allowed users to replicate the distinctive artistic style of the legendary Japanese filmmaker and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away). “Today is a great day on the internet,” one user declared while sharing popular memes in Ghibli format.
While the trend has captivated users worldwide, it has also highlighted ethical concerns about AI tools trained on copyrighted creative works—and what this means for the livelihoods of human artists.
Not that this concerns OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which has actively encouraged the “Ghiblification”experiments. Its CEO, Sam Altman, even changed his profile picture on the social media platform X to a Ghibli-style portrait.
Miyazaki, now 84 years old, is known for his hand-drawn animation approach and whimsical storytelling. He has long expressed skepticism about AI’s role in animation. His past remarks on AI-generated animation have resurfaced and gone viral again, particularly when he once said he was “utterly disgusted” by an AI demonstration.
Central America
Nicaragua revokes legal status of 10 more NGOs, bringing total to over 5,600
The Nicaraguan government canceled the legal status of 10 more non-profit organizations on Friday (March 28, 2025), including the Swiss Foundation for Development Cooperation, bringing the total number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) shut down since December 2018 to over 5,600.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the Swiss Foundation for Development Cooperation, which had been registered since March 9, 2002, was found to be in non-compliance for failing to report its financial status for 2024 and for having an expired board of directors.
Among the 10 NGOs whose legal status was revoked were religious organizations, educational groups, consumer associations, and aquaculture organizations, all dissolved “voluntarily” or closed under similar reasons.
As of today, more than 5,600 NGOs have been dismantled following the popular protests that erupted in April 2018 in Nicaragua. In most cases, the assets of these organizations have been ordered to be transferred to the state.
Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”
Miyazaki’s style goes viral with AI but at what cost?
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