Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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U.S. 'interference'
How? Top U.S. officials, he said, repeatedly tried to pressure his government to renew the mandate of the United Nations International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, known as the CICIG.
The commission, a special independent body of prosecutors, is now helping lead the charge against Pérez Molina. A treaty-level agreement between Guatemala and the United Nations signed in 2006 gives the commission special power to investigate a limited number of sensitive cases.
Pérez Molina told Del Rincón the case against him is politically motivated, and that it's no coincidence that it came to a head last week, just before a presidential election.
The former president extended the U.N. commission's mandate in April as protests against his government mounted. But he told CNN en Español he'd wanted to kick the organization out of Guatemala.
"The CICIG has been an instrument that has served others, but not to strengthen justice," he said. "Today, the CICIG, we see it really as an interference of the United States, who were the ones who most pressured for it. So I responded to the interference of the United States, who are the ones who are practically ordering the commissioner here."
The State Department said in a statement that the Guatemalan government alone decided to extend the CICIG's mandate.
"We continue to strongly support CICIG's efforts to fight crime and corruption," a State Department spokesman said.
Jailed Guatemalan ex-President points finger at U.S. - CNN.com
The plot thickens.
How? Top U.S. officials, he said, repeatedly tried to pressure his government to renew the mandate of the United Nations International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, known as the CICIG.
The commission, a special independent body of prosecutors, is now helping lead the charge against Pérez Molina. A treaty-level agreement between Guatemala and the United Nations signed in 2006 gives the commission special power to investigate a limited number of sensitive cases.
Pérez Molina told Del Rincón the case against him is politically motivated, and that it's no coincidence that it came to a head last week, just before a presidential election.
The former president extended the U.N. commission's mandate in April as protests against his government mounted. But he told CNN en Español he'd wanted to kick the organization out of Guatemala.
"The CICIG has been an instrument that has served others, but not to strengthen justice," he said. "Today, the CICIG, we see it really as an interference of the United States, who were the ones who most pressured for it. So I responded to the interference of the United States, who are the ones who are practically ordering the commissioner here."
The State Department said in a statement that the Guatemalan government alone decided to extend the CICIG's mandate.
"We continue to strongly support CICIG's efforts to fight crime and corruption," a State Department spokesman said.
Jailed Guatemalan ex-President points finger at U.S. - CNN.com
The plot thickens.
