Editing History of Guatemala (section)

===== Otto Pérez Molina government and "La Línea" case =====
{{Main|Otto Pérez Molina}}
Retired General [[Otto Pérez Molina]] was elected president alongside Roxana Baldetti, Guatemala's first female vice president, and they began their term on 14 January 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-16563638|title = New Guatemala President Otto Perez Molina takes office|work = BBC News|date = 15 January 2012}}</ref> However, on 16 April 2015, the UN anti-corruption agency CICIG issued a report implicating several high-profile politicians, including Vice President Baldetti's private secretary, Juan Carlos Monzón, and the director of the Guatemalan Internal Revenue Service.<ref name=veliz>{{cite news|last=Véliz|first=Rodrigo|title=El Caso SAT: el legado de la inteligencia militar|url=http://cmiguate.org/el-caso-sat-el-legado-de-la-inteligencia-militar/|date=17 April 2015|location=Guatemala|newspaper=Centro de Medios Independientes de Guatemala|access-date=22 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150422144047/http://cmiguate.org/el-caso-sat-el-legado-de-la-inteligencia-militar/|archive-date=22 April 2015|language=es}}</ref> The revelations generated public outrage reminiscent of the period during General [[Kjell Eugenio Laugerud Garcia]]'s presidency. The CICIG, working with the Guatemalan attorney general, exposed the "La Línea" scam, which involved officials accepting bribes from importers in exchange for reducing tariffs.<ref name=veliz/> This practice was rooted in a long tradition of customs corruption in the country, dating back to successive military governments that sought to fund counterinsurgency operations during Guatemala's 36-year [[Guatemala Civil War|civil war]].<ref name=linea10junio>{{cite news|title=Caso SAT: Así operaba La Línea según el informe de la CICIG|url=http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20150610/pais/13566/Caso-SAT-Así-operaba-La-Línea-según-el-informe-de-la-CICIG.htm|newspaper=[[El Periódico (Guatemala)|ElPeriódico]]|location=Guatemala|access-date=10 June 2015|date=10 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610184233/http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20150610/pais/13566/Caso-SAT-As%C3%AD-operaba-La-L%C3%ADnea-seg%C3%BAn-el-informe-de-la-CICIG.htm|archive-date=10 June 2015|language=es}}</ref><ref name=Solano22abril>{{cite news|last=Solano|first=Luis|title=#Caso SAT ¿La punta del iceberg?|url=http://www.albedrio.org/htm/articulos/l/ls-038.html|access-date=25 April 2015|location=Guatemala|date=22 April 2015|newspaper=Albedrío|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425212340/http://www.albedrio.org/htm/articulos/l/ls-038.html|archive-date=25 April 2015}}</ref>

Citizens organized a Facebook event inviting people to gather in [[Guatemala City]] to demand Vice President Baldetti's resignation, using the hashtag #RenunciaYa (Resign Now). Within days, over 10,000 people pledged to attend. The organizers emphasized that the event was non-political and instructed protesters to follow the law, avoid covering their faces or wearing party colors, and bring essentials like water, food, and sunblock.<ref name=ollantay21mayo>{{cite news|last=Itzamná|first=Ollantay|title=Guatemala: Indígenas y campesinos indignados exigen la renuncia del Gobierno y plantean un proceso de Asamblea Constituyente popular|url=http://www.albedrio.org/htm/articulos/o/oitzamna-070.html|date=21 May 2015|access-date=21 May 2015|location=Guatemala|newspaper=Albedrío|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521205503/http://www.albedrio.org/htm/articulos/o/oitzamna-070.html|archive-date=21 May 2015|language=es}}</ref> Tens of thousands took to the streets, leading to Baldetti's resignation a few days later. She was forced to remain in Guatemala after the United States revoked her visa, and the Guatemalan government investigated her for involvement in the "La Línea" scandal. The prominent role of US Ambassador Todd Robinson in the investigation fueled suspicions among Guatemalans that the US government sought to replace the Guatemalan administration with one more sympathetic to its interests, particularly to counter China and Russia's influence in the region.<ref name=porras2015>{{cite news|last=Porras Castejón|first=Gustavo|title=Los Estados Unidos y su nueva forma de colonialismo en la que no hay necesidad de tropas|url=http://www.plazapublica.com.gt/content/eeuu-y-su-nueva-forma-de-colonialismo-en-la-que-no-hay-necesidad-de-tropas|newspaper=Plaza Pública|location=Guatemala|date=19 June 2015|access-date=19 June 2015|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074450/http://www.plazapublica.com.gt/content/eeuu-y-su-nueva-forma-de-colonialismo-en-la-que-no-hay-necesidad-de-tropas|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Since then, the UN anti-corruption committee has reported on additional cases, leading to the resignation or arrest of over 20 government officials. Among the most significant cases are those involving two former presidential private secretaries: Juan de Dios Rodríguez, from the Guatemalan Social Service, and Gustavo Martínez, who was implicated in a bribery scandal involving the Jaguar Energy power plant. Martínez was also the son-in-law of President Pérez Molina.<ref>{{cite news|title=Capturan al ex secretario general de la presidencia |date=9 July 2015 |access-date=9 July 2015 |newspaper=Emisoras Unidas |location=Guatemala |url=http://noticias.emisorasunidas.com/node/140914 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709191641/http://noticias.emisorasunidas.com/node/140914 |archive-date=9 July 2015 }}</ref>

Political opposition leaders have also been implicated in CICIG investigations. Several legislators and members of the Libertad Democrática Renovada (LIDER) party were formally accused of bribery, leading to a sharp decline in support for its presidential candidate, Manuel Baldizón. Before April, Baldizón had been the frontrunner in the 6 September 2015 presidential election. However, his popularity plummeted, and he even accused CICIG leader Iván Velásquez of international interference in Guatemalan affairs before the Organization of American States.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://elperiodico.com.gt/2015/07/29/pais/cicig-si-pero-sin-velasquez-dice-baldizon/ |title=CICIG sí, pero sin Velásquez, dice Baldizón |newspaper=ElPeriódico |location=Guatemala |date=29 July 2015 |access-date=29 July 2015 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150729150940/http://elperiodico.com.gt/2015/07/29/pais/cicig-si-pero-sin-velasquez-dice-baldizon/ |archive-date=29 July 2015 }}</ref>

CICIG presented so many cases on Thursdays that Guatemalans began referring to them as "CICIG's Thursdays." However, it was a Friday press conference that escalated the crisis to its peak: on Friday, 21 August 2015, CICIG and Attorney General Thelma Aldana presented evidence suggesting that both President Pérez Molina and former Vice President Baldetti were the actual leaders of "La Línea." Baldetti was arrested that same day, and an impeachment request was made for the president. In response, several cabinet members resigned, and public calls for the president's resignation reached unprecedented levels after Pérez Molina defiantly announced in a televised message on 23 August 2015 that he would not step down.<ref name=periodico21a>{{cite news|url=http://elperiodico.com.gt/2015/08/21/pais/exvicepresidenta-baldetti-capturada-esta-manana-por-tres-delitos/ |title=Ex vicepresidenta Baldetti capturada esta mañana por tres delitos |newspaper=ElPeriódico |location=Guatemala |date=21 August 2015 |access-date=21 August 2015 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821155710/http://elperiodico.com.gt/2015/08/21/pais/exvicepresidenta-baldetti-capturada-esta-manana-por-tres-delitos/ |archive-date=21 August 2015 }}</ref><ref name=eu23a>{{cite news|url=http://noticias.emisorasunidas.com/noticias/nacionales/no-renunciare-enfatiza-presidente-perez-molina |title=No renunciaré, enfatiza Pérez Molina |newspaper=Emisoras Unidas |location=Guatemala |date=23 August 2015 |access-date=23 August 2015 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824035254/http://noticias.emisorasunidas.com/noticias/nacionales/no-renunciare-enfatiza-presidente-perez-molina |archive-date=24 August 2015 }}</ref>

After thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand the increasingly isolated president's resignation, Guatemala's Congress appointed a commission of five legislators to consider removing the president's immunity from prosecution, a request that was approved by the Supreme Court. A major day of action began on Thursday, 27 August, with marches and roadblocks across the country. Urban groups, which had been leading regular protests since the scandal broke in April, sought to unite with rural and indigenous organizations that were orchestrating roadblocks.

The strike in Guatemala City drew a large, peaceful crowd that included a diverse range of participants, from the indigenous poor to wealthy elites, as well as students from public and private universities. Hundreds of schools and businesses closed in support of the protests. An organization representing Guatemala's most powerful business leaders issued a statement demanding Pérez Molina's resignation and urged Congress to strip him of immunity.

The Attorney General's Office also released a statement urging the president to resign "to prevent ungovernability that could destabilize the nation." As the pressure mounted, two of the president's former ministers of defense and the interior, who were implicated in the corruption investigation and had recently resigned from the cabinet, left the country.<ref name=lopez27a>{{cite news|url=http://elperiodico.com.gt/2015/08/27/pais/vuelan-dos-exministros-lopez-ambrosio-ayer-a-panama-y-lopez-bonilla-hoy-hacia-la-dominicana/ |title=Vuelan dos exministros: Lopez Ambrosio ayer a Panamá y López Bonilla hoy hacia la Dominicana |newspaper=ElPeriódico |location=Guatemala |date=27 August 2015 |access-date=27 August 2015 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827162655/http://elperiodico.com.gt/2015/08/27/pais/vuelan-dos-exministros-lopez-ambrosio-ayer-a-panama-y-lopez-bonilla-hoy-hacia-la-dominicana/ |archive-date=27 August 2015 }}</ref> Meanwhile, Pérez Molina continued to lose support daily. The powerful private sector – which had been a loyal supporter of Molina, their former defender in the Army during the [[Guatemalan Civil War]] – called for his resignation. However, he managed to garner support from entrepreneurs outside the private sector chambers, such as Mario López Estrada, the billionaire owner of cellular phone companies and the grandson of former dictator [[Manuel Estrada Cabrera]], whose executives took over the vacated cabinet positions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nomada.gt/el-multimillonario-rescata-a-opm-a-cambio-de-un-tesoro/|newspaper=Nomada|title=El multimillonario rescata a OPM a cambio de un tesoro|date=27 August 2015|access-date=27 August 2015|author=Olmstead, Gladys|author2=Medina, Sofía|location=Guatemala|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123214943/https://nomada.gt/el-multimillonario-rescata-a-opm-a-cambio-de-un-tesoro/|archive-date=23 January 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The Guatemalan radio station TGTO ("Emisoras Unidas") reported a text message exchange with Pérez Molina, who, when asked whether he planned to resign, responded, "I will face whatever is necessary to face, and what the law requires." Some protesters demanded that the general election be postponed, citing both the ongoing crisis and accusations of irregularities. Others warned that suspending the vote could lead to an institutional vacuum.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guatevision.com/cicig-otto-perez-participo-en-la-liena/ |title=CICIG: Otto Pérez participó en "La Línea" |location=Guatemala |date=21 August 2015 |access-date=21 August 2015 |author=Ruano, Jessica |newspaper=Guatevisión |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821185039/http://www.guatevision.com/cicig-otto-perez-participo-en-la-liena/ |archive-date=21 August 2015 }}</ref> However, on 2 September 2015, Molina resigned from office after Congress impeached him the day before.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34137225|title = Guatemala's President Otto Perez Molina resigns|publisher = BBC News|date = 3 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Renuncia el presidente Otto Pérez|url=http://www.prensalibre.com/guatemala/politica/renuncia-el-presidente-otto-perez|website=Prensa Libre|date=3 September 2015|access-date=3 September 2015|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905160933/http://www.prensalibre.com/guatemala/politica/renuncia-el-presidente-otto-perez|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> On 3 September 2015, he was summoned to the Justice Department to face his first legal hearing for the [[:es:Caso de La Línea en Guatemala|La Línea case]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.prensalibre.com/guatemala/justicia/perez-molina-se-presentara-ante-el-juez-dice-su-abogado|title=Pérez Molina se presentará ante el juez dice su abogado|date=3 September 2015|access-date=3 September 2015|newspaper=Prensa Libre|location=Guatemala|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905160924/http://www.prensalibre.com/guatemala/justicia/perez-molina-se-presentara-ante-el-juez-dice-su-abogado|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.s21.com.gt/nacionales/2015/09/03/tienen-toda-intencion-destruirme-afirma-otto-perez-ya-esta-tribunales |title=Tienen toda la intención de destruirme, afirma Otto Perez, ya en tribunales |date=3 September 2015 |access-date=3 September 2015 |newspaper=Siglo 21 |location=Guatemala |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903154829/http://www.s21.com.gt/nacionales/2015/09/03/tienen-toda-intencion-destruirme-afirma-otto-perez-ya-esta-tribunales |archive-date=3 September 2015 }}</ref>