COMMISSION FILES TWO FURTHER COMPLAINTS AGAINST JUDGES

Guatemala, April 11, 2013. The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) filed a complaint against Jisela Yadel Reinoso Trujillo, judge of the Fourth Court of the First Criminal Instance, and also against Adrián Rolando Rodríguez Arana, judge of the Seventh Court of the First Criminal Instance. Both complaints allege the judges committed malfeasance of office. These two complaints come after the Commission previously denounced other judges in the report it released in 2012 titled "The Impunity Judges".

When CICIG takes such actions, it does so acting in accordance with its founding agreement, as per Article 3.1.b: "Promote criminal prosecutions by filing criminal complaints with the relevant authorities. The Commission may also, in accordance with the aforementioned Agreement and the Code of Criminal Procedure, join a criminal proceeding as a private prosecutor (querellante adhesivo) with respect to all cases within its jurisdiction".

In the following cases, the two judges systematically awarded alternative measures to accused parties, contravening the provisions set forth by law. Subsequently, upon appeal, the alternative measures were overturned in most of the proceedings and the accused were ordered to be rearrested. The foreign nationals left the country.

Judge Reinoso Trujillo is accused of favoring accused parties through the rulings she issued in the following criminal proceedings:

1. Case No. 1077-2011-193: Ana Sofía Castañeda Deras (known as "La Sirenita") and Luis Arturo Méndez Martínez are being investigated by the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) for their alleged involvement in a money laundering and drug trafficking network. The judge changed the detention pending trial measures to house arrest. The pair are charged with criminal association and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
2. Case No. 01069–2011–00695: On December 22, 2011, the judge declared the provisional closure of the proceedings against José Manuel Cifuentes. The accused was arrested at La Aurora International Airport on July 14, 2011. Cifuentes was found to be carrying USD 472,360.00 and was headed to Panama City; however, he failed to declare the funds, as required by law. He was charged with money laundering, perjury and falsification of facts.  
3. Case No. 01069–2012–00027: On January 16, 2012, José Miguel Espinoza López, Cándido Heberto Cano Camacho, Javier Orta Rodríguez (Mexican), Henry Roberto Camacho, Jesús Arturo León Álvarez (Mexican), Carlos Manuel Gamboa Godínez and Owen Ariel Maldonado Muñoz were arrested in Zone 10 of Guatemala City carrying a total of USD 500,090.00. The above individuals benefited from a modification of the charges of money laundering and conspiracy to a charge of impeding the clarification of events. They were also allowed to go free after paying a bail bond of GTQ 5,000.

Judge Rodríguez Arana allegedly committed malfeasance of office in the following criminal proceedings:

1. Case 01079–2010–01078: On May 22, 2010, the authorities arrested Marie Magdalena Stahl Hurtado, a US citizen, at La Aurora International Airport. She was carrying USD 435,762.00. The rota court had ordered detention pending trial for money laundering; however, Judge Rodríguez later ordered that the accused be released and on March 29, 2011 ordered that the case be definitively shelved and the money returned.
2. Case 01079–2011–00554: On June 5, 2011, Duvan Yesid Baena Vargas and Lina Fernanda Perdomo Oliveros, both Colombian, were arrested at La Aurora International Airport carrying USD 48,127.00 between them. The pair intended to take the funds out of the country without legally declaring them. The rota court linked the accused to proceedings for money laundering and remanded them in custody pending trial. On July 7, 2011, Judge Rodríguez Arana changed the charges to illegally moving money, and the accused pair were released on a bail of GTQ 60,000.00. 
3. Case 01079–2010–00877: Manuel Hernán Jativa Sotomayor, of Ecuadorian nationality, was arrested on April 29, 2010 at La Aurora International Airport. Jativa Sotomayor intended to illegally take USD 134,570.00 out of the country. The rota court linked the accused to proceedings for money laundering and remanded him in custody pending trial. On June 14, 2010, Judge Rodríguez Arana granted him house arrest and the accused was released on a bail of GTQ 800,000.00.

As part of the petition, CICIG included the decisions of the judges and the analyses to demonstrate the manner in which they allegedly ruled in breach of the law in cases before them.

The complaints filed against judges Reinoso Trujillo and Rodríguez Arana were remitted to Walter Villatoro and Óscar Sagastume, respectively. The pair recused themselves and forwarded the complaints to the Supreme Court of Justice, which will decide whether proceedings to lift immunity should be instituted.

With these latest complaints, CICIG has now filed a total of 11 complaints against judges of the Guatemalan justice system—they constitute part of the Commission's commitment to strengthening the justice system in the country.