Guatemala apologises to Arbenz family

URNG Facebook Photo

President Alvaro Colom apologized on behalf of the Guatemalan government to former president Jacobo Arbenz's family on Thursday. Arbenz was deposed in a CIA-sponsored coup in 1954. He died in exile in 1971.

The apology and recognition "that the Guatemalan State failed to protect the human rights of members of the Arbenz family" comes five months after the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights helped to negotiate an agreement between the two parties. 

"Asking forgiveness has historical implications for the country and for Guatemalans' historical memory because (the coup) was when our coutnry's debacle began," Ruth del Valle, head of the presidential commission on human rights told AFP.

Here is President Colom's apology. 

Like President Funes's apology for the state's complicity in the murders of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the six Jesuit martyrs at the UCA, President Colom's apology is an important act. I don't want to diminish what both Presidents Funes and Colom have done. However, one needs citizens on the right in El Salvador, Guatemala, and the United States who were involved in these acts (or covered them up) to come forward, accept responsibility, and ask for forgiveness.

It sort of rings hollow when the "left" apologizes on behalf of the state for crimes committed by the "right" against the "left."

2nd Poll has Perez Molina in Lead

El Diario 24

According to a recent CID / Gallup survey, Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party has maintained his lead over Manuel Baldizon of Lider with seventeen days remaining before the second round. The survey was carried out among 1,215 Guatemala between October 9 and 16 and has a margin of error of 2.8%.

39.7% said that they intended to vote for Pérez Molina in round two. Baldizón followed seven and one-half points behind with 32.2%. The remaining 28% didn't mark their simulated ballots. If you don't take the null ballots into account, Pérez Molina leads 55% to 45%. 

CID/Gallup's poll is a bit different from the Prensa Libre / Prodatos poll carried out the week before (October 4 - 8). In that poll, Pérez Molina led 56% to 44%. However, when you factored in the undecided / null vote, Pérez Molina had 49.4%, Baldizón 39.2%, and 11% for the remaining categories. 

Remember, polling in Guatemala is not as reliable as when done in the United States. And I imagine that the rains of the last week are going to cause problems on election day. If anything, that is going to hurt Baldizón who has more support in the rural areas, precisely those areas cut off from the floods.

While the race could still go either way, Pérez Molina remains the odds on favorite.

Most illegal immigrants deported last year were criminals?

The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are touting that the Obama administration deported nearly 400,000 people from the United States in 2010. Headlines report that about 55% of the 396,906 individuals deported had felony or misdemeanor convictions. (Remember, these are the numbers that the administration already manipulated 11 months ago.)

Okay, so 55% of 396,906 had criminal records. That gives us approximately, 218,298 deported with criminal records (and 178,608 without a record). We "know" that 1,119 were convicted of homicide, 5,848 of sexual offenses, 44,653 of drug-related offenses and 35,927 of driving under the influence. That adds up to 87,547. 

Let's assume these convictions were legitimate. That leaves another 130,751 deportees with “other” criminal records. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director couldn't give a number as to how many of these deportees' only offense was a previous immigration violation, but he really needs to know.  Had they committed assault, robbery, trespassing?

Are we talking about 87,000 (22%) or 218,000 (55%) “hardened” criminals deported in 2010? I'm guessing that since he didn't have the answer to such a basic and predictable questions, most of the remaining deportees were simply people desperate enough to get to the US a second or third time.

The other thing to try to keep in perspective is the denominator. In this week's news stories, the denominator is ~400,000. That's the number of people deported in 2010, slightly more than half of which had criminal records. That's what the administration is using as evidence that they are focused on deporting those people who have committed crimes or who are a threat to the US.

However, that might not be the best way to answer the question of whether the administration is focused on the worst of the worst. We would really want to know how many of the 10-11 million illegal immigrants have committed felonies and misdemeanors (probably an unknown number) and how many of those individuals the government has successfully apprehended and deported. Don't compare criminal deportations to non-criminal deportations. 

Catastrophe in Central America

Central America is getting pounded by relentless rain. Tim has excellent coverage as to what is happening in El Salvador as well as ways in which you can help (The deluge of 2011, Weather map for El Salvador, Blog Action Day - The Rains and Food).

El Salvador from the Inside has some statistics and coverage of the storm's damage as well here and here.

Voices from El Salvador has been providing coverage all along. See here, here,  here, here, here and here.

Al Jazeera has video on the storm in Guatemala.


The Central American economies were already hurting and the economic effects of the storms will do nothing to help. Perhaps this presents itself as another good opportunity for President Obama and the Department of Homeland Security to offer temporary protected status to Guatemalans instead of touting how many people it deported in 2010.

Thank you Dean Brackley

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, Father Dean Brackley, SJ died Sunday. Dean was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer about four months ago and, after undergoing unsuccessful treatment, he returned to El Salvador at the end of August. Dean was one of the Jesuits who volunteered to serve the people of El Salvador following the murders of six Jesuits in November 1989. 

Tim has a write-up from the honorary degree that Dean recently received from Marquette University. 

John Donaghy has an excerpt from "Meeting the Victims, Falling in Love" that Dean wrote and shares his thoughts at Hermano Juancito.

See also stories from the National Catholic Reporter, Independent Catholic News, Catholic Free Press.

Like Ellacuria and the Jesuit martyrs before him, Dean will never be replaced. However, we can help in some ways to ensure that his work continues now that he has moved on to be with the Lord. 

For the last several years, Dean and other volunteers have funded a Martyrs Scholarship Program. The program is designed to help students with economic need attend the UCA. Today, approximately 50 students have their tuition and living expenses paid for through the scholarship. 

One of Dean's final desires was to institutionalize the scholarship program so that it would continue well after he left us.

Please help us transform El Salvador’s future. When you support an UCA Martyrs Scholarship Student you help a young person receive a college education that will change their life, their family, and their community for the better. Due to the economic crisis in El Salvador and in the U.S., the program has received fewer donations than before, but the need for scholarships is greater every year.

Help us by sponsoring one of the students in this newsletter or contact us if you wish to sponsor a student from a specific community or major. Your donation will go directly to pay for the student´s tuition and other educational costs. Your donation of any size helps or give $1100 to sponsor one year of the student´s college education. Send your donation to:

Dean Brackley, S.J.

Centro Monseñor Romero, VIP SAL No. 568

PO Box 025364

Miami, FL 33102-5364

Make your check payable to ‘‘Asociación Centro Mons. Romero’’

For more information contact Haydee Diaz at haydee_diaz@hotmail.com.

Former General's Trial Delayed Again

From the AP

A Guatemalan judge has again postponed a hearing to decide if a former general should stand trial for alleged involvement in dozens of massacres of indigenous people during the Central American nation's civil war.

Prosecutors say the 81-year-old Hector Mario Lopez Fuentes was brought to Friday's hearing sedated, prompting Judge Carol Flores to cancel it.

Flores hasn't set a new date for the hearing. She canceled three previous hearings after Lopez's lawyers said he was too sick with prostate cancer to attend.

Lopez was detained in June on charges that he planned and ordered about 300 massacres when he was chief of staff of the Guatemalan military in 1982 and 1983.

I wonder if his lawyer's strategy is just to delay a hearing until the November runoff. Assuming Otto Perez Molina wins, it'll then be interesting to see what happens when the courts try to prosecute military officials for genocide and crimes against humanity when the president denies either of those things ever happened.

NISGUA has more on former Director of Military Intelligence José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez who was arrested Thursday. 

Here are a few more stories to take a look at this weekend.

Rains blamed for 22 deaths (Fox News Latino)

Women like the all women buses (The Guardian) Are all women taxis next?

Little headway against rampant malnutrition (IPS)  

Guatemalan businessmen look to reduce poverty from 51% to 35% by 2021 (El Periodico) 51% looks low but it sounds like an ambitious, but reasonable goal

An analysis on the economic benefits and risks of the Marlin Mine from Lyuba Zarsky and Leonardo Stanley

22 days and 10 hours remaining until round 2 voting begins.

Mejia on the run

From Reuters

Authorities in Guatemala declared former president Oscar Mejia a fugitive on Thursday after ordering his arrest to face charges of genocide during the 36-year civil war in the Central American country.

Mejia, 80, is wanted for ordering massacres in the Ixil, Quiche indigenous region when he served as chief of the military in 1982-1983, the war's bloodiest years under former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, the government said.

Mejia is missing right now and is considered a fugitive. José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez, former head of the G-2, was also sent to preventative prison. He is accused of genocide and crimes against humanity. 

Meanwhile, retired general Hector Mario Lopez Fuentes had his hearing postponed as authorities look to determine whether he is healthy enough to stand trial. 

Important steps towards breaking down the impunity that continues to exist in Guatemala.