This article is part of an editorial partnership with The Fund for Global Human Rights.
In late August, the global trend toward authoritarianism struck another blow. This time it fell in Guatemala, as the outgoing president, Jimmy Morales, officially destroyed the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) – a body established to build rule of law, end impunity for heinous crimes and combat corruption. The CICIG’s successes proved too much for Morales to bear: he himself, along with his son, were under investigation. He revoked its mandate, threatened to free those found guilty as a result of CICIG investigations and targeted the human rights organisations that helped create it.
