Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
thors of the crime were still at large. Progress was also made in the case of the long-run-
ning saga of the murder of anthropologist Myrna Mack. The material author of the crime,
Noel de Jesús Beteta, is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence. The intellectual au-
thor, Colonel Juan Valencia Osorio, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2002, but an
appeals court granted his release the following year. Shortly after an order for his re-arrest
and return to prison, Valencia escaped while under military custody and under dubious cir-
cumstances.
Meanwhile,EfraínRíosMontt,thedictatorwhopresidedoversomeoftheworstatrocit-
iesduringthearmy'sscorched-earthcampaignoftheearly1980s,gothimselfelectedpres-
identofCongress.Fromhisposition,heandthemilitaryinterestsweresaidtoruntheshow
via the creation of a parallel power structure while Portillo remained a convenient gov-
ernment front man. Corruption, always a problem plaguing Guatemala'sgovernments, bal-
looned to unparalleled proportions. Scandals involved embezzlement bythe interior minis-
ter as well as a highly publicized cover-up involving Ríos Montt himself.
Inaneventsubsequentlylabeled“Guategate”bythelocalpress,RíosMonttand19other
FRG members of congress were accused of secretly altering a liquor tax law, which had
already beenpassedbycongress,atthebehestofpowerfulliquorinterests. Thealtered rate
lowered the tariffs by as much as 50 percent. When opposition parties denounced the il-
legal changes to the law, congressional records from the meeting disappeared, while oth-
er documents were falsified. Although a popular outcry arose to have Montt and the other
members of congress stripped of their diplomatic immunity to stand trial for their actions,
the crime remained in impunity, as is so often the case in Guatemala.
In May 2003, the FRG nominated Ríos Montt as its presidential candidate in the elec-
tions to be held in November of that year. Once again, his candidacy was rejected by the
electoral authorities and by two lower courts, in accordance with the constitutional ban on
coup participants' running for presidential office. In July 2003 the Constitutional Court,
with several judges appointed by the FRG, approved his candidacy for president, ignoring
the constitutional ban that had prevented him from running in previous elections. Adding
insult to injury, Ríos Montt had publicly (and correctly) predicted the margin by which he
would win the decision prior to its announcement. Days later, the Supreme Court suspen-
ded his campaign for the presidency and agreed to hear a complaint presented by two op-
position parties.
Ríos Montt denounced the ruling as tampering with the judicial hierarchy and issued
veiled threats concerning possible agitation by supporters of his candidacy. Days later, on
July 24, a day known as Black Thursday, thousands of ski-masked and hooded FRG sup-
porters invaded the Guatemala City streets armed with machetes, guns, and clubs. They
had been bused in from the interior by the FRG and were led in organized fashion by well-
known FRG militants, including several members of congress, who were photographed by
the press while coordinating the actions.
