Political Struggle Strains Guatemala’s Justice System - NYTimes.com

NYTimes.com, by Elisabeth Malkin, Guatemala City, 03/07/2010, excerpt/extracto.-

A former president in jail as he faces charges of embezzling money from the military budget. Two former national police chiefs arrested on drug counts. A former dictator’s son and other former Defense Ministry officials charged with fraud and embezzlement. Investigations into drug rings and illegal adoption rackets
Since Guatemala turned its justice system into an experiment under an unusual agreement with the United Nations in recent years, the country has made some visible steps toward shaking up its culture of impunity and strengthening the rule of law.

Admitting that organized crime has burrowed deeply into the police, the prosecutor’s office and the courts, Guatemala invited in foreign prosecutors to prepare delicate cases that might otherwise have been shelved by intimidated or corrupt officials.

But in the past few weeks, an escalating political struggle over the effort suggested just how fragile it was. The fallout led to the resignation of the charismatic chief of the international prosecutors’ panel and a limbo lasting possibly months while Guatemala picks a new attorney general, also referred to as a prosecutor general.

Both positions are essential to keep the experiment working, prompting the United Nations to appoint a new director this past week for the panel, known as the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, or simply Cicig. Under the agreement between the sides, outside prosecutors work alongside a special group of Guatemalan prosecutors and investigators.