Vielman's Extradition Blocked

On Saturday, Guatemala’s Constitutional Court blocked a request for the extradition of Carlos Vielman for his role in extrajudicial executions.  Vielman is a former interior minister from the Berger administration (2004-2008) who is accused of having conspired to create a criminal structure within the interior ministry.  He was arrested in Spain in October.

According to Cicig, that structure was responsible for the extrajudicial killings of at least 10 inmates in two Guatemalan maximum-security prisons...

The case against Vielman and other senior officials centers on the deaths of seven inmates in 2006 at the Pavon prison farm.

The men were executed amid a joint military-police operation to wrest control of Pavon away from inmate gangs, an occasion investigators say the conspirators used to eliminate criminal rivals being held at the prison farm.

The CC's suspension of the request for Vielman's extradition is another strong blow against CICIG.  Many, including Guatemala's civil society, are worried about the increasing attacks against CICIG in both the media and in several recent court decisions. 

On Sunday, they called on the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) to investigate Judge Carol Flores.  Flores is the judge who decided to drop the charge of extrajudicial execution against Giammattei.  They also called on the Constitutional Court to reinstate the extradition request for Vielman. 

Finally, they called on the country to support CICIG's work and for the government to request that the international community extend CICIG's mandate.

I don't know.  I'm not optimistic.  Why should the international community agree to extend CICIG's mandate when it appears that the courts, the executive, and the legislature are all working against it?