Guatemala Courts at Renewed Risk of Infiltration by Criminal Groups

Just as Guatemala is completing a selection process to appoint judges to two senior courts, an investigation has revealed a familiar scheme involving criminal groups trying to influence these decisions.

AG Silence Could Signal Difficult Path to Justice in Guatemala

Concern has been mounting since Guatemala’s new attorney general took office two months ago.

How Ríos Montt Won the War in Guatemala

Former Guatemala dictator and legislator Efraín Ríos Montt is dead, but he left behind a blueprint for how to undermine democracy and create powerful, lasting criminal networks.

Guatemala's CICIG Takes on Third President With New Corruption Allegations

Guatemala's anti-impunity body the CICIG has made dramatic new allegations in the case of the so-called "king" of Guatemala's prison system, implicating one of the most powerful politicians in the…

Weekly InSight: Mauricio López Bonilla, From Guatemala's Top Cop to US Most Wanted

In our June 29 Facebook Live session, Senior Editor Mike LaSusa and Senior Investigator Héctor Silva Ávalos discussed the case of former Guatemala Interior Minister Mauricio López Bonilla, who is…

Weekly InSight: Latin America's Prison Dilemma

In our June 1 Facebook Live, co-directors Steven Dudley and Jeremy McDermott spoke about InSight Crime’s special investigation of prisons and their often overlooked impact on organized crime…

Reign of the Kaibil: Guatemala’s Prisons Under Byron Lima

Following Guatemala's long and brutal civil war, members of the military were charged, faced trial and sentenced to jail time. Even some members of a powerful elite unit known as…

Guatemala Ex-President and VP Still Wield Power From Jail: Report

A recent report has suggested that Guatemala's incarcerated former president and vice president continue to wield power from behind bars over a year after their fall from grace, casting fresh…

Guatemala's Mafia State and the Case of Mauricio López Bonilla

Former Guatemalan Interior Minister Mauricio López Bonilla -- a decorated war hero and a longtime US ally -- finds himself treading water amidst a flurry of accusations about corruption and…

Guatemala President Fires Security Service Chiefs Accused of Spying

The president of Guatemala has fired the two highest-ranking officials in the executive's security service after they were accused of illegal surveillance, illustrating the persistence of clandestine networks of security…

Reactions, Clarifications, Corrections: Elites, Organized Crime and the CICIG

(*This story was updated September 9.) InSight Crime has received numerous letters following the September 1 publication of its investigation "Elites and Organized Crime: CICIG." In the interest…

Guatemala Elites and Organized Crime: The CICIG

Like any arm of the justice system, the United Nations-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala - CICIG) had its battles with elites…