Your Taxpayer Dollars at the U.N.
The case of the Bitkovs gets more outrageous.
A United Nations prosecutor partly funded by the U.S. was supposed to be a cure for corruption in Guatemala. But the U.N. International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala—or CICIG by its Spanish initials—has had almost no oversight since it was established in 2006. Now it too is accused of corruption and politicizing the judiciary.
The good news is that Republican Sens. Roger Wicker (Miss.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Mike Lee (Utah) and Rep. Chris Smith (R., N.J.) are more insistent. On Monday they sent a letter to the Chairman of the House subcommittee on state and foreign operations, Rep. Hal Rogers (R., Ky.), requesting a hold on a $6 million disbursement for CICIG until “Congress has conducted appropriate oversight.”
CICIG is an unelected U.N. body and lead prosecutor Iván Velásquez has the power of a viceroy. He has cowed many locals into supporting him if they want to stay out of jail. Others are cheering him on as he threatens to bring down President Jimmy Morales. That’s something to keep in mind as CICIG advocates bombard Capitol Hill to defend CICIG’s unchecked authority.
Wall Street Journal
5/10/2018
Sarah Ulmer
