IRTF News

A former high-ranking government official in Guatemala has pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to conspiring to commit money laundering while paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Guatemalan politicians through the U.S. banking system. Acisclo Valladares Urruela, the former economics minister in Guatemala, admitted that he transferred $350,000 in bribery payments to the unidentified Guatemalan politicians through two companies with bank accounts in Miami, according to a factual statement filed with his plea agreement. Valladares also acknowledged that he received $140,000 for moving the dirty money into those accounts, the statement says. Valladares paid the illegal bribes on behalf of a telecommunications company known as Tigo, for which he worked as a corporate officer. As a result of the payoffs, Guatemalan politicians passed a law that paved the way for the telecommunications company to obtain a series of lucrative government contracts in Guatemala, according to court records. The corrupt dealings allowed Valladares to benefit personally and politically, U.S. authorities said.

Ice’s database lists about 25,000 detainees nationwide, but does not maintain reliable inmate demographics. Non-profits such as Freedom for Immigrants (FFI) and Black Alliance for Just Immigration estimate that roughly 20% of Black immigrants are waiting for deportation. Advocacy organizations like FFI also say that this demographic experiences higher rates of deportation; sexual, physical, medical, and psychological abuses in detention; and solitary confinement. In the last month alone, FFI has received more than 2,100 complaints nationwide. The most common abuse-related ones are anti-Black discriminatory actions, ranging from forced strip-searches and unprovoked pepper-spraying to prolonged solitary confinement and critical medical treatment negligence.

According to a Pew Research Center article, the latest statistics we have indicate there are about 10 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Of those two thirds, or six and a half million, have been in the United States for over 10 years. A group of House Democrats just introduced a bill, entitled the Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929, that would allow such undocumented immigrants to apply for immigration papers after seven years in the country. The bill incorporates a rolling component so that future legislation would not be required to update what is called this “registry date.” It is estimated about eight million immigrants could benefit by the bill’s passage. What has not been adequately highlighted so far, however, is how the American immigration system and America as a country would also benefit from the passage of this legislation.

On Wednesday, July 20, the U.S. State Department released an update of the so-called “Engel List”. The document is a list of “individuals who have knowingly engaged in acts that threaten democratic processes or institutions, engaged in significant corruption, or obstructed investigations of such acts of corruption in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.” The list sanctions corrupt individuals who undermine democracy or obstruct corruption investigations. It also sanctions those allegedly involved in the following offenses: corruption related to government contracts, bribery and extortion, and the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption, including through money laundering.

El Salvador's government has extended a controversial state of emergency by another month for a fourth time. Human rights groups say the measures, which allow police to arrest suspects without warrants, have led to arbitrary detentions. But the government argues they have made the country safer. The special measures were declared in March to combat rampant gang violence. Since then, 46,000 people have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to gangs in the country of 6.5m people.

Honduras must respect and protect the human rights of the LGBTI community, experts said Tuesday at an event sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (Aecid) and the European Union (EU). The former Spanish trans deputy and activist of that group Carla Antonelli stated that Honduras must legislate in favor of vulnerable groups, such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersexual (LGBTI) community. "Pedagogy is fundamental, the commitment of governments, but also in legislative matters (it is necessary) to have laws aimed at protecting vulnerable groups, in this case the LGBTI," he stressed. Honduras must promote regulations aimed at guaranteeing the LGBTI community "their fundamental rights, such as the recognition of their own identity and prevent discrimination," said the Spanish activist. Antonelli also stressed the importance of making the problems faced by this group visible, in order to "move forward in this society", and affirmed that Spain is an example of this.

 Five months and 22 days into government, open-pit mining continues to be an unaddressed promise by the administration of President Xiomara Castro. In her government plan, Castro promised to "eliminate open-pit mining concessions that threaten the nation's natural heritage and displace communities". The leader of the Municipal Committee in Defense of the Common and Public Goods of Tocoa, Reynaldo Domínguez, made a call to retake President Castro's speech regarding the suspension of projects that involve open pit mining and that hurt the life of the communities. Domínguez pointed out that in the communities surrounding the Carlos Escaleras National Park, environmental contamination is an ongoing and pressing issue.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released its 2021 Annual Report, a reference instrument to foster institutional transparency. The Report addresses the situation of human rights and presents relevant progress made in the Americas, along with pending challenges. Each one of the Report's six chapters mentions specific institutional achievements. The IACHR granted 73 new precautionary measures, extended a further 33, and requested five temporary measures from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The Commission further issued four resolutions to follow up on precautionary measures, given persistent risk factors or the emergence of implementation challenges. A total of 40 precautionary measures were lifted, in the belief that the risk factors that justified their existence had disappeared. During 2021, all requests for precautionary measures received by 2019 that were pending a final decision were reviewed. 

Zones of Economic Development and Employment (ZEDEs) in Honduras are an extreme form of neoliberalism. Recently ZEDE Próspera announced it will seek consultations under CAFTA for lost investments after the Honduran Congress overturned the ZEDE law earlier this year. This interview with Fernando García, the Honduran Presidential Commissioner Against ZEDEs gives some context and refers to ZEDE Próspera’s recent announcements.