Otto Perez Molina, the very same President who took to the world stage at the outset of his administration in 2012 by proposing little thought out policies for the legalization and decriminalization of drugs was forced to resign in September 2015 and is now sitting in jail awaiting trial along with his Vice President Roxanna Baldetti.
Their crimes were not related to drug trafficking, but for running a criminal network where importers bribed customs officials in exchange for lower tariffs. The secret network was dubbed ‘La Linea’ for the line of command that led to the President and Vice President and for the telephone lines used by the importers contacting the fraudulent customs officials.
It’s hard to imagine how the Guatemalan government would implement decriminalization policies involving drug traffickers where the monetary temptation to benefit from corruption would be even greater. It is more likely that the cartels would continue to co-opt law enforcement, judges and politicians, rendering such a modified policy regime meaningless.
