COURT SENDS PASSPORT CHIEF TO PRISON

Guatemala, August 14, 2013. The Third Court of the First Criminal Instance ordered that José Alberto de León Gramajo, head of the passport delegation of the Passport Issuing Authorities of the General Directorate of Migration (DGM), and José Antonio Samayoa Cano, former representative of the Corporación Inmobiliaria La Luz, S.A (a company that was previously responsible for authorizing the manufacturing of passports) be prosecuted and remanded in custody. They are charged with forming part of a criminal organization involved in the falsification of passports and the illegal transit of individuals.

After analyzing the investigation evidence provided by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) and CICIG, the Court ordered that De Léon Gramajo and Samayoa Cano be prosecuted on charges of illegal transit of individuals and criminal association. Samayoa Cano was also charged with falsification of facts.

On August 13, the authorities—with CICIG support—arrested De León Gramajo outside the Passport Issuing Authorities, located in a shopping center in Zone 4 of Guatemala City, and Samayoa Cano at the premises of the company Suvisa (which provides migration advisory assistance), also located in the same area.

Investigations established that Samayoa Cano was responsible for manufacturing passports and verifying compliance with legal requirements for their issuance, and De León Gramajo oversaw the approval of issuance.

CICIG acts as a complementary prosecutor in these criminal proceedings.

Background
The investigation to dismantle the structure got underway with the arrest of two Colombian citizens, Jhon Alexander Cardona Salinas and Luis Alberto Valencia Duque, at the La Aurora International Airport on October 10, 2011. The pair were arrested after using fake passports that had been issued by the migration authorities.

On June 19, the Third Court of the First Criminal Instance sentenced Jhon Alexander Cardona Salinas and Luis Alberto Valencia Duque to three years in prison (convertible to a fine) and ordered their expulsion from the country for the use of fake passports.