{"id":1780,"date":"2018-05-07T19:36:43","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T01:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/supportthebitkovs.com\/?p=1780"},"modified":"2018-05-07T19:39:41","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T01:39:41","slug":"en-guatemala-promete-luchar-contra-el-soborno-a-pesar-del-control-del-senador-de-estados-unidos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/supportthebitkovs.com\/en\/2018\/05\/07\/en-guatemala-promete-luchar-contra-el-soborno-a-pesar-del-control-del-senador-de-estados-unidos\/","title":{"rendered":"In Guatemala, vows to fight graft despite US senator’s hold"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Espa\u00f1ol Disponible aqu\u00ed:<\/a><\/p>\n

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May 07, 2018 07:39 PM
\n<\/span>Updated 1 hour 46 minutes ago<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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GUATEMALA CITY\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Backers of efforts to combat corruption in Guatemala are vowing that work will not be stopped by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio putting a hold on $6 million in U.S. contributions for a U.N.-sponsored commission probing graft in the country.<\/p>\n

Commission chief Ivan Velasquez said he would not comment but tweeted Sunday: “The fight against impunity and against corruption must continue; it does not wait; it cannot be suspended or delayed. There is neither time nor space for pessimism, uncertainty, discouragement or fear.”<\/p>\n

Guatemalan lawmaker Andrea Villagran said Monday that lobbyists in Washington are misinterpreting the fight against corruption in Guatemala and is hopeful that Rubio’s request will not last.<\/p>\n

“What Senator Rubio says should not do significant harm, since it is not a person who makes decisions \u2014 it is a group,” she said. “And we understand U.S. politics. They are institutional regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans are in power.”<\/p>\n

Rubio announced the hold Friday, which affects funding already authorized by Congress but not yet disbursed.<\/p>\n

In a statement, he said he was concerned the commission may have been “manipulated and used by radical elements and Russia’s campaign against the Bitkov family in Guatemala.”<\/p>\n

Guatemala’s highest court recently overturned a prison conviction for the three Bitkovs, who were accused of using forged documents to live in the country. They claim to be the victims of a plot orchestrated by Moscow but have produced no evidence to support their allegation.<\/p>\n

Rubio also sent a letter to Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales asking him to guarantee the Bitkovs’ safety.<\/p>\n

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Before sending them another 6 million of your tax $ we deserve to know what role Putin & Russian bank sanctioned by U.S. played in decision by a U.N. commission to sentence family fleeing Kremlin persecution to 19 yrs of prison for a passport violationhttps:\/\/t.co\/Al4dZKnZ5a<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) 8 de mayo de 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n