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.