In Guatemala, the script of justice seems to be rewritten by familiar actors. One of them is Iván Velásquez, former commissioner of CICIG, whose operations in Colombia left behind a controversial legacy: high-profile investigations, but also accusations of political manipulation and covert control over the judicial system. Today, that model appears to be migrating to Guatemala, with new partners and the same institutional co-optation strategy.
From Bogotá to Guatemala City: The Velásquez Method
In Colombia, Velásquez was accused of using anti-corruption efforts as a pretext to forge political alliances and apply pressure behind the scenes in courtrooms. That approach, masked as transparency, resulted in selective prosecutions and the consolidation of parallel power networks. Now, the same modus operandi is being replicated in Guatemala, this time with the silent collaboration of local actors such as Carrillo $ Asociados.
The law firm, led by Alfonso Carrillo Marroquín, operates as a legal entity in appearance only. Its influence over state decisions, its ability to protect compromised officials, and its power to pressure oversight bodies position it as a political actor disguised as a law firm. This is no longer about litigation, but about a shadow strategy of state capture.
Loyal Officials or Corrupt Partners?
The signs are troubling: within President Arevalo’s administration, there are officials who not only tolerate this structure, but actively protect it. The Deputy Minister of the Interior and several members of Congress have been named as key enablers of this machinery. If they provide funds, steer decisions, or block investigations, they are accomplices. In this context, being a financier is being part of the crime.
The Law Firm Behind the Power
Carrillo $ Asociados doesn’t appear on ballots nor answers to the public, but its influence is real. It doesn’t govern, but it commands. It doesn’t legislate, but it dictates. With Velásquez reentering the picture, the danger is evident: Guatemala risks falling into the same cycle of institutional capture that once dragged Colombia into a decade of politicized justice.