Guatemala News Roundup

Guatemala is set to officially request that Spain extradite Carlos Vielman to stand trial for murder and other assorted crimes.  Vielman has been under arrest in Spain for the last two weeks.  Former presidential candidate Alejandro Giammattei is already awaiting trial

Cindy Carcamo at the Sacramento Bee has a really good story on the deportation of Guatemalans from the United States.  According to ICE, Guatemalan nationals are the second largest group deported from the US (Mexicans are number one).  Eighteen percent of those removed from the country between January 1 and mid-September were returned to Guatemala (28,204 out of 158,964).  While only one person, it was interesting to read the ICE official's views.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on the flight escorting the deportees from the Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center in Mesa simply see them as a manifestation of supply and demand.

"They're economic refugees," said Eduardo L. Preciado, ICE assistant field office director of detention and removal operations in Arizona. Another official nodded in approval.

"I think the overwhelming majority of folks apprehended along the border come here for work," Preciado said. "Their countries can't provide jobs for their people and they can come to the U.S. It's economy-driven illegal immigration."

Hopefully, Preciado doesn't lose his job or citizenship for such as statement.  This is Arizona.

Pedro Marcos-Marcos, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala pleaded guilty to smuggling people into California and holding them in brutal captivity until their relatives paid thousands of dollars and faces life in prison at his sentencing in February.

I imagine that we're going to be hearing more of both these stories in the future.  I'm not optimistic about comprehensive immigration reform anytime soon regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's elections.  Are you?

The good news is that murders fell between January and September compared to last.  However, the bad news is that the first three weeks of October were really bloody and almost all the gains have been erased.  We don't really know for sure anyway because the government and the National Institute for Forensic Science have different totals.

We're likely to hear more shocking information about the US experiments in Guatemala during the 1940s.  Guatemalan VP Rafael Espada stated that they know of seventeen different types of medical experiments carried out by US health officials on approximately 1,500 Guatemalans.The Guatemalan investigation of the experiments is likely to take six months and for some reason it is being partially financed by the United Nations.

Honduran Soccer Field Massacre

Hondurans suffer another massacre.

A carful of attackers armed with assault rifles drove up to a football field in a poor Honduran neighborhood Saturday and opened fire, killing at least 14 people.

Armando Calidonio, vice minister of security, said the gunmen shot from point-blank range at the victims, who were known to gather there to play football.

Ten were killed at the scene and four died as they were being taken to the hospital. More were wounded — some gravely, Calidonio said, though the number was not clear.

The attackers numbered about five, but police did not have any suspects.

"We still do not know the motive of this tragedy," Calidonio told reporters.

Mark your Calendars

From Inside Costa Rica

The Nicaraguan Supreme Electoral Council officially convoked political parties with judicial personality to take part in the general elections of 2011.

The general elections were fixed for Sunday, November 6, 2011, to choose the President, the Vicepresident, the national and municipal deputies and the deputies for the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN)...

The organizations participating in the general elections should present their candidates for President and Vicepresident in the middle of March 2011, and will have up to May 2011 to present their candidates for departamental (municipal) authorities.

Tax Evasion Kills

Zetas in Guatemala

McClathey's Tim Johnson has a few stories out on the presence of the Zetas in the Peten jungle region of Guatemala near Tikal National Park and Laguna del Tigre.

Peten is one of the country's major tourist destinations while Laguna del Tigre is more well known for Perenco's controversial oil concessions.

Johnson relates the story of a confrontation between the Zetas and Guatemalan police and military that ended badly for the Guatemalans.

Around midday on Oct. 5, when police stopped a convoy of 16 or so big double-cabin pickups and other vehicles a short drive south of the Tikal National Park, an amplified voice from one vehicle barked a warning: "We are Los Zetas! Let us pass. We don't want problems."

To make their point, several men carrying assault rifles got out and fired hundreds of rounds into the air.

The police let the convoy pass, then called for help from the army, according to the accounts of several officers, nearly all of whom declined to give their names for fear of retaliation.

However, the military were no more successful.

In a fierce clash that began south of the famous Tikal ruins, the drug gang known as Los Zetas, based in Mexico's northeastern border area and the Yucatán Peninsula, was able to outgun local police by deploying armored vehicles, bigger guns and far more ammunition. Then it fought a large army patrol to a draw, losing vehicles and taking wounded but apparently getting away with cocaine.

Peten is relatively sparsely populated and there are few police and military stationed in meanginful numbers in in the region. 

A Career in Political Science

In case you haven't had enough of the videos, here's the political science one.

For my English Department Colleagues

In case you haven't seen the law school one before, it's really worth a look (or a second look).

Guatemalan News

Ten days ago, Dionisio Gutierrez, a Guatemalan entrepreneur and journalist, resigned from his position as host of Libre Encuentro because of threats to his life.

"Various forms of intimidation have increased substantially in these past months, including constant death threats against me," he wrote. "This is just one of the many expressions of violence and intolerance that Guatemala is currently suffering from."

Here's a little background on Gutierrez

Dionisio Gutierrez Mayorga (born 1959) was born in Guatemala and was recently listed by Revista Summa as one of the 100 most important businessmen in Latin America. He is Co-President of Corporación Multi Inversiones (CMI), a large agro-industrial conglomerate which is one of the most powerful corporations in Central America. Founded in 1920, CMI now accounts for more than 30,000 employees, operating in 14 countries within six divisions: poultry and pork; Pollo Campero fast food restaurants; flour mills, pasta and cookie production; construction; power generation; and financial services.

Gutierrez and President Colom have been sparring for the last several months with Colom's accusing Gutierrez of being behind a conspiracy to destabilize his government and prevent Sandra Torres de Colom from running for the presidency.

However, it's not just the Colom's who have had heated disagreements with Guetierrez.  In January

Canal Guatevision received a threat from a group calling themselves the Guatemalan Liberation Army, stating that the group would begin taking its vengeance on the country's businessmen, whom it held responsible for the capture of ex-Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo, who had been indicted for tax evasion, fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering and was the subject of extradition proceedings for a criminal proceedings in New York. The first target the group named was Dionisio Gutierrez.

Since that time, Gutierrez, his production company, his program's distributors and others have been threatened and even physically attacked. Although the sources of the attacks and threats remained anonymous, both the current government and organized crime have been vocal opponents of Gutierrez and his allies. President Colom and his government have used the strongest language to date, referring to Gutierrez's programs as a declaration of war.

In editorials shortly after Gutierrez's resignation, Prensa Libre and Siglo XXI speculated that this was a sign of bad things to come in the run up to next year's presidential election.

Gutierrez's program was known to serve as the unofficial ombudsman of the government and the electoral process, demanding political transparency from all of the governments which have come into power since the inception of the country's relatively young democracy. In doing so, he often openly disagreed with the administration of Alvaro Colom and his politically active wife, Sandra Torres de Colom, who is running a campaign for her own presidential bid in 2011.

Over fifty Guatemalans were killed during the 2007 election and there is good reason to fear continued violence in 2011.  Mirador Electoral fears that the prevailing impunity in the country, the operation of organized crime groups, and the illegal start to campaigning by UNE and PP do not bode well for the country.

El Salvador and Taiwan

During a meeting between El Salvador's Defense Minister, David Munguia Payes, and the Taiwanese President, Ma Ying-jeou, Ma said that he was "pleased with increasing military exchanges" between the two countries.

Ma said that ties between the Republic of China on Taiwan and El Salvador go back a long way. He said that since 1961, the two countries have been on friendly terms. Ma also said trade between the two nations has grown several times since they forged a free trade agreement.

Meanwhile, Ma thanked El Salvador for supporting the Republic of China on Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations. Ma said he hopes El Salvador will continue to support Taiwan's bids to join the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

El Salvador is one of the twenty-three countries that recognizes Taiwan as the sole legitimate government of the whole of China (twelve are from the Americas).  The two countries already have a free trade agreement that went into effect in March 2008. 

I haven't come across much about their military relationship except that El Salvador is one of several countries with soldiers training at Taiwan's Military Academy

At the moment, the academy is hosting 17 foreign trainees from Burkina Faso, Gambia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. “Such exchange programs play a contributing role in cementing diplomatic ties with our allies,” Chuan said.

It doesn't appear that El Salvador's relationship with Taiwan (rather than China) has caused any trouble within the FMLN.  Some FMLN traveled to the Communist countries during the civil war for training and education while military officials went to Taiwan for training.

Competition with Taiwan is another issue to think about when trying to evaluate China's presence in Latin America.  The search for natural resources and trade opportunities is obviously a consideration, but so is its competition with Taiwan for international recognition.

Hunger Strike in Venezuela Ends

Jesuit José María Korta ended his hunger strike Monday when the Venezuelan "government agreed to high-level talks to negotiate the release of three indigenous prisoners facing murder charges and to discuss land claims by Yukpa communities."

Salvador

If you like the movie Salvador, you'll enjoy Living El – The Making of Salvador at Sabotage Times.  Here's a taste:

Oliver Stone: The original idea was to shoot a semi-documentary in El Salvador starring Boyle as himself and Dr Rock as himself and we were going to get the Salvadorians to put up all their military equipment. Boyle took me down to El Salvador and we partied.

Richard Boyle: We met with [Robert] D’Abusisson’s generals. They liked Oliver because they loved Scarface.

Oliver Stone: These guys were slapping us on the back, drinking toasts to [Scarface's] Tony Montana. They kept talking about their favourite scenes and acting out the killings. They’d go; ‘Tony Montana, mucho cajones [Lots of balls)! Ratta-tat-tat! Kill the fucking communists!'

Richard Boyle: It would have been great to make the movie in El Salvador, spend some hard currency, help the people out. But then people started dying so we had to think again.

Iraq Violence

Al Jazeera has a pretty cool flash animation of the violence in Iraq between 2004 and 2010.  Be sure to check all three maps - roadside bombs, checkpoint deaths, and assassinations. 

Jesuit on Hunger Strike

Photo: Demotix

José María Korta, an eighty-one year old Jesuit priest, has completed the first week of his hunger strike outside the Venezuelan National Assembly.  He is there to bring attention to the Venezuelan government's failure to address the needs and rights of indigenous groups in the country.

According to Nelson Gonzalez Leal on Demotix,

Korta requires that the Venezuelan government complies with the Constitution, the Organic Law of Indigenous Peoples and Communities and the Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization, in terms of territorial rights and jurisdiction to indigenous communities.

The problem of demarcation of indigenous lands in Venezuela from the presence of interests of some sectors of government and the industrial livestock sector, who planned the construction of a multimodal transportation system on indigenous territory.

This project was opposed by the Yukpa and Wayuu indigenous groups, whose leaders were arrested and jailed, to be tried by ordinary courts, when the Venezuelan Constitution and the Law of Indigenous Peoples and Communities state that these trials should be conducted under the principles of indigenous jurisdiction.

Zona Viva in Guatemala City

Unsurprisingly, both Guatemalan nationals and foreigners have avoided Zona Viva since last week's shooting at the Taco Inn that left three people dead.

Initial reports indicate that dining was down 40% since last week's shooting.  However, it's still unclear how many people are avoiding Zona Viva because of the killings or because of how uncomfortable they feel surrounded by such high levels of "security."

The National Civilian Police, the Municipal Traffic Police, the Army, and private security have all increased their presence in the area with around the clock patrols.  Two hundred agents patrolled the streets last week and their numbers increased to 400 over the weekend.

Vote for Congressman Carolyn Maloney

I don't know much about Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, but she did help get the government to pay for my high school's new green roof.

Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D - Manhattan, Queens) today joined Columbia University Professor Stuart Gaffin, Regis High School Principal Philip Judge and Members of the School’s Board of Trustees, alumni, teachers and students to dedicate Regis High School’s much anticipated new green roof. The green roof at Regis is one of approximately ten roofs that will be the subject of Columbia’s Earth Institute with federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The study will determine the effectiveness of green roofs in reducing pollution and conserving energy. At 20,000 square feet, Regis’ green roof is the largest in New York City.

Death and the US-Mexican Border

According to the Arizona Coalition of Human Rights, 2,104 undocumented immigrants have died in the last decade along the US- Mexican border.  Over ten percent (253) of the deaths occurred during the 2010 fiscal year, including 170 males, 32 women, and 51 unknown.  The dead come from Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and, surprisingly I guess, the Dominican Republic.  Okay, we don't know how many were from the DR, but I still wasn't expecting it to show up.

 

The coalition's death totals come from coroners offices in the border counties.  The totals wouldn't include, obviously, undocumented immigrants who perished in the desert and whose bodies have not yet been recovered.  It's also quite likely that the organization does not have information from all the offices. 

Given these limitations, we can think of these figures as the lower limit.  If anything, the numbers are higher.

PARLACEN Murder Trial Begins

The trial of nine Guatemalans accused of killing three Salvadoran members of the Central American regional parliament (PARLACEN) and their driver in February 2007 began Thursday in Guatemala City (Washington Post and AP).

The trial is expected to last approximately two months and will involve 140 - 200 witnesses (Prensa Libre gives 140 while the others list 200).  There also appear to be intercepted phone calls where some of the defendants were planning the murders.

Two congressmen (Manuel Castillo and Carlos Silva) as well as several former police officers are charged with the parliamentarians' murder. The prosecutor claims that Castillo and then Silva were the intellectual authors of the crime.  They met four times - twice in Guatemala (Jalpatagua and Jutiapa) and twice in in El Salvador (Santa Ana).  

Guatemalan prosecutors say Castillo and another former congressman, Carlos Silva, planned the killings because the Salvadoran politicians had been urging that Silva be stripped of his legislator's immunity so he could face money laundering charges. Silva fled to the U.S. where was arrested for being in the country illegally.

While the eight will be tried, three others would have also been on trial had they not been killed in prison under mysterious circumstances.

Social networking and Kidnapping in Guatemala

While in the US recent news has focused on cyberbullying, Inside Costa Rica has a story about how criminals in Guatemala are using the internet to help facilitate kidnappings.  The kidnappers are exploiting information found on various social networking websites (Facebook, Hi5, MySpace and Tagged) to make contacts with youth primarily between the ages of 10 and 25. 

Investigators have information about five cases in which the kidnappers chose their victims through those sites. The targets are chiefly people between 10 and 25 years old who are invited by unknown persons who claim to be of the same age.

Guatemalan authorities reported that five or six kidnapping gangs are operating in the country, but a new one using that method is being sought.

The kidnappers begin operating when they create false accounts on those websites, with false data and photos. Then they invite the victims to chat, they get their information, and finally they abduct them.

Like most crimes in Guatemala, authorities are having a difficult time doing anything about it.  The Public Ministry claims that the social networking accounts are created at cybercafes which makes it difficult for them to identify and track down the kidnappers.

New ReVista Edition on Guatemala

When you get an opportunity, I suggest you take a look at the most recent edition of ReVista that is dedicated to Guatemala.  ReVista is published by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University.  This issue has pieces by Edelberto Torres-Rivas, Jean-Marie Simon, Victoria Sanford, David Stoll, Kate Doyle, and Susanne Jonas, among others.

Murders on the Decline

Contrapunto has a new article detailing some of the progress made by the Funes administration in tackling violence in El Salvador.  However, they also caution against reading too much into any claims about a significant sustained decrease in the murder rate.

According to official reports, between January 1 and October 13, 2010 the total number of murders declined compared to the same period in 2009.  There were a reported 3,157 homicides for an average of 11 per day in 2010 versus 3,449 homicides for an average of 12.1 per day in 2009.  Clearly that is good news and provides a glimmer of hope that the Funes administration has implemented some successful crime reduction policies.

However, Contrapunto reminds us that according to the World Health Organization homicides rates greater than ten per 100,000 are considered an epidemic.  El Salvador still has a homicide rate five times higher.  There's also no guarantee that the reduction is permanent or will even hold before the year comes to an end.   

These are small samples indicate that there is progress, but so far not much. The magnitude of the massacre is still very high, when looking at homicide rates. For example, without complete records (until 13 October both years) in 2009 would have been a homicide rate of 60.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. And in 2010, a rate is 55.3 per 100,000 inhabitants.

All this taking into account the 2007 population census which says that the Salvadoran population is 5.7 million. But it should also clarify that the rate is obtained from an annual cumulative and not 9 months and 13 days.

One can always hope.

Other crimes such as theft, robbery, extortion, auto theft, manslaughter, robbery and vehicle theft of merchandise have also decreased. Kidnappings, however, increased from 18 to 20.

Church News in Central America

Pope Benedict XVI recently addressed Manuel Barrera Roberto López, the new ambassador of El Salvador to the Holy See.  Pope Benedict said that the Church's mission is to foster the "public good in all dimensions."

“Evangelizing and bearing witness to love for God and for all persons without exception becomes an effective element in eradicating poverty and is a vigorous incentive to fight against violence, impunity, and drug trafficking, which are wreaking such havoc, especially among youth," he said...

In Nicaragua, Archbishop Silvio Baez also called on Nicaraguan politicians to tackle poverty and the lack of jobs in the country not for political point scoring but because it is the right thing to do. 

"Populism and paternalism are a continuous temptation", Bishop Baez said in a television interview, "and can dangerously become a means of ideological propaganda of a party's interests. The poor should not be used, but we need to serve them, give them dignity and help them through decent work."

One of the more interesting tidbits from the article was Bishop Baez' response to criticism that Ortega recently leveled against Catholic priests speaking out from the pulpit.

Asked about statements some time ago of Sandinista President Daniel Ortega, who had criticized priests for speaking out from their pulpits and calling on the people to assert their rights, the Auxiliary Bishop of Managua said he did not feel harmed by those statements because this action does not safeguard the interests of any political party.

A statement by the bishop noted, "'I do not repent of what I said,'” and "In the Cathedral I said that the people have the right to hold politicians accountable, as it is the people that elected them...and they are to serve society and not to use it."

All I can think of is Pope John Paul's criticism of Catholic priests who held positions in Ortega's Sandinista government.  Here he is chastising Father Ernesto Cardenal upon his arrival in Managua in 1983.  How times have changed.

Brazilian Journalist Murdered

Speaking of violence against journalists in Latin America

A veteran reporter who had often received death threats for his reports on crime was gunned down in front of his house in northeastern Brazil, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Francisco Gomes de Medeiros died instantly when he was shot five times on Monday in the city of Caico, said Augusto Bezerra, spokesman for the public safety department of Rio Grande do Norte state.

Bezerra said by telephone that police have arrested a former inmate, Joao Francisco dos Santos, who confessed he killed Medeiros because he felt that coverage of a robbery he committed in 2007 convinced the judge to sentence him 18 months in jail instead of the seven months he expected.

Bezerra said police also are investigating whether the murder could be linked to Medeiros' reports that candidates for the state assembly traded cocaine for votes in the Oct. 3 elections.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 20 Brazilian journalists were murdered between 1994 and 2009.






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Insecurity n Guatemala

David T. Johnson, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, gave a speech to the Council of the Americas earlier this month. 

In "Efforts To Combat Organized Crime in Guatemala" Johnson highlights several successful US-Guatemala joint efforts to tackle organized crime, including the Merida Initiative, the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), and some innovative community based projects such as the Villa Nueva Model Police Precinct. 

Fortunatly, Johnson recognizes that

there is no one solution to address Guatemala’s deteriorating security situation; the challenge is complex and multifaceted, and so our response must be targeted and thoughtful. Turning the tide will require collaboration with other donors, other governments, and the United Nations, as well as strong regional programs from South America to Mexico and, most important, good governance from the Guatemalans themselves. Only by coordinating efforts across all these diverse sources can we hope to achieve meaningful and lasting progress.

While perhaps not his area of expertise, Johnson unfortunately does not address any programs that have successfully helped to jump start the Guatemalan economy.  Instead, the focus is on entirely security.

Celebrating Journalists

Colombian journalist for El Universal, Claudia Ayola Escalón, has received several death threats in recent weeks via email.  She also received strange phone calls and an encounter on the streets of Cartagena.  Ayola's writings typically relate to "political and social issues, human rights and sexuality.  As you know, Latin America is a pretty rough place for journalists.

At the same time that journalists in Honduras, Mexico and elsewhere are killed or silenced for their reporting on controversial issues, three journalists were recently honored at the 2010 Courage in Journalism Awards in New York.  The three women were recognized for "penetrat[ing] press barriers in order to report from the frontlines of their countries and communities."

Two of the four winners are from Latin America.  Alma Guillermoprieto is a Mexican born writer known for being one of two journalists to travel to El Salvador to investigate the massacre at El Mozote in 1981.

Colombian journalist Claudia Duque was also recognized for her reporting on child trafficking, illegal adoptions, and paramilitaries.

Since Duque exposed Colombia's secret police, the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), for tampering with evidence in the murder of political journalist Jaime Garzon, she has been kidnapped on multiple occasions, robbed, and issued countless death threats. But what is most vile about Duque's predators is their continuous threat to torture, rape and murder her 10-year-old daughter.

Vicky Ntetema, a Tanzanian journalist, received the award for her work on, among other things, the power of witchdoctors in traditional African society. 

When Ntetema began to investigate rumours of an odious blackmarket in Tanzania that bought and sold the body parts of mutilated albinos, she single-handedly uncovered a story of genocide that has put her in critical danger.

In 2007, Ntetema heard that four albino Tanzanians had been brutally murdered by witchdoctors who used their arms, legs and hair in potions supposed to bring good fortune. Posing as a customer, Ntetema gained access to the repugnant inner workings of the industry, but was exposed when her recording device fell out of her pocket.

Since then, despite countless death threats, Ntetema has continued to shed light on the practices of the witchdoctors who hold tremendous political power in traditional African society. "Eighty percent of Tanzanians survive on a dollar a day," Ntetema said. "And these potions go for a thousand U.S. dollars a pat. The demand comes from the rich."

Finally, Tsering Woeser was recognized even though the Chinese government confiscated her passport so that she could not attend the ceremony.  Woeser is a Tibetan freelance writer and blogger based in Beijng.

In a pre-recorded acceptance speech, she stressed the importance of new media in circumventing the great 'Firewall' in China. She referred to herself as a "media machine, a weapon for the powerless against the power of the world, a weapon of non-violence and non-cooperation."

Congratulations.

The Latin Americanist

The Latin Americanist is soliciting submissions for a special edition on immigration scheduled to be published in December 2011.

Violence strikes in the heart of Zona Viva

Three teenagers were killed and another eight injured at the Taco Inn in Zona Viva of Guatemala City.  The people were injuredkilled both inside and outside the Mexican restaurant which sits on a corner in the center of the business and nightlife district. 

The shooting occurred early Saturday morning and appears to have involved rival drug traffickers and/or a revenge killing.  Two suspects were arrested shortly afterwards with an arsenal including three pistols, three rifles, and an uzi.  The shooting occurred in the middle of where young, rich Guatemalans and foreign tourists like to play.   This could get interesting.

Guatemala and the Death Penalty

Guatemalan government officials have been debating the wisdom of reinstating the death penalty in hopes that its application will bring violence under control.  Political parties on the right, the Libertad Democrática Renovada and Partido Patriota in particular, have pushed to reinstate the death penalty as a means of crime prevention and to position themselves as the parties of law and order before the 2011 election.  The URNG was one of the few political parties to criticize the new law.

On October 5th, Congress passed legislation giving the president the authority to issue pardons for those on death row.  The last execution in Guatemala occurred at least ten years ago (1998 or 2000 according to different sources).  The new law would have created a path to execute ten or twenty Guatemalans currently on death row. 

Two weeks ago, the United Nations Office for Human Rights in Guatemala called on the government to promote more effective measures to bring the violence under control such as strengthening its police forces, improving the Public Ministry's capabilities, and attacking the causes of youth violence.  Amnesty International also on the Guatemalan Congress "to abolish the death penalty instead of regulating it."

Colom has said that as a social democrat he does not support the death penalty.  He also said that the power to issue pardons and commute sentences should be decided by the Supreme Court and not the president (Prensa Libre).  In 2005 the IACHR ruled that Guatemala could not apply the death penalty until it had a procedure in place for the granting of presidential pardons. Congress tried to pass a similar law in 2008 to give the president this power, but Colom vetoed the bill.

Guatemala is reconsidering the use of the death penalty at the same time that Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced the creation of an International Commission Against the Death Penalty, The commission's goal is to help achieve a "global moratorium" on its use by 2015.


And in the US, Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana of El Salvador is scheduled to be the first member of MS-13 to be sentenced to death under the federal system of capital punishment.

Suicide, Not Murder

A Nicaraguan diplomat's body was found dead in his apartment last month in New York City.  While initial reports speculated that Cesar Mercado might have been murdered, it turns out that it was a pretty painful suicide.

Cesar Mercado, 34, was found Sept. 23 in his apartment with his throat cut and 12 stab wounds in his abdomen, but unnamed police sources told the Post the diplomat stabbed himself after swallowing drain cleaner to cause his death.

Police were already considering that possibility after traces of the corrosive liquid were found in his body, and the discovery that the diplomat had recently been diagnosed with an incurable disease, something that could have brought on depression.

Police officials said that a Nicaraguan forensic expert reported that it was Mercado who stabbed himself several times and cut his throat after swallowing a chemical product that burned some internal organs.