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| Attorney General in Guatemala Excluded From Re-election Bid | Attorney General in Guatemala Excluded From Re-election Bid |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| MEXICO CITY — Guatemala’s attorney general, Claudia Paz y Paz, whose prosecution of a former dictator for genocide earned her the enmity of powerful members of the country’s political and business elite, has lost her bid for a second term. | |
| During her tenure, Ms. Paz y Paz took on some of Guatemala’s thorniest law and order issues, prosecuting top drug trafficking figures and confronting impunity for common crimes. | During her tenure, Ms. Paz y Paz took on some of Guatemala’s thorniest law and order issues, prosecuting top drug trafficking figures and confronting impunity for common crimes. |
| But while she earned a nominating committee’s second-highest ranking among all the candidates applying for the post, Ms. Paz y Paz was not on the six-person shortlist approved late Tuesday. The list will be sent to President Otto Pérez Molina, who must choose one of the people on it before Ms. Paz y Paz’s term ends May 17. | But while she earned a nominating committee’s second-highest ranking among all the candidates applying for the post, Ms. Paz y Paz was not on the six-person shortlist approved late Tuesday. The list will be sent to President Otto Pérez Molina, who must choose one of the people on it before Ms. Paz y Paz’s term ends May 17. |
| The decision to exclude Ms. Paz y Paz drew concern from experts who had been watching the process closely. | The decision to exclude Ms. Paz y Paz drew concern from experts who had been watching the process closely. |
| “Some of the actions of those in charge of making the selection are little short of amazing,” said Iván Velásquez, who heads a United Nations-backed commission of international lawyers, known by its Spanish acronym Cicig, that works with working with Guatemalan prosecutors to investigate high-profile crimes. | “Some of the actions of those in charge of making the selection are little short of amazing,” said Iván Velásquez, who heads a United Nations-backed commission of international lawyers, known by its Spanish acronym Cicig, that works with working with Guatemalan prosecutors to investigate high-profile crimes. |
| It is “surprising that Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz is not on the list after three years of excellent work at the head of the Public Ministry,” continued Mr. Velásquez, a former prosecutor and investigating magistrate in Colombia. | It is “surprising that Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz is not on the list after three years of excellent work at the head of the Public Ministry,” continued Mr. Velásquez, a former prosecutor and investigating magistrate in Colombia. |
| The nominating committee is made up of 11 law school deans, two members of the bar association and the president of the Supreme Court, José Arturo Sierra. Its meetings are public in an effort to bring transparency to the process. But when a reporter from the Guatemalan newspaper Siglo 21 asked Mr. Sierra on Tuesday if a deal had been struck to omit Ms. Paz y Paz, he said, “It’s possible. In these events there is a bit of everything. We can’t confirm or deny it.” | The nominating committee is made up of 11 law school deans, two members of the bar association and the president of the Supreme Court, José Arturo Sierra. Its meetings are public in an effort to bring transparency to the process. But when a reporter from the Guatemalan newspaper Siglo 21 asked Mr. Sierra on Tuesday if a deal had been struck to omit Ms. Paz y Paz, he said, “It’s possible. In these events there is a bit of everything. We can’t confirm or deny it.” |
| Ms. Paz y Paz, 47, a soft-spoken former law professor and human rights investigator, won support for her efforts against crime from Washington and was widely praised by human rights groups. | Ms. Paz y Paz, 47, a soft-spoken former law professor and human rights investigator, won support for her efforts against crime from Washington and was widely praised by human rights groups. |
| But her prosecution last year of a former president, Efraín Ríos Montt, for genocide in connection with massacres of Maya Ixil villagers in 1982 and 1983 during Guatemala’s brutal civil war was openly attacked by conservative columnists. Ten days after Gen. Ríos Montt was found guilty last May, Guatemala’s constitutional court annulled the conviction on an obscure technical point. | But her prosecution last year of a former president, Efraín Ríos Montt, for genocide in connection with massacres of Maya Ixil villagers in 1982 and 1983 during Guatemala’s brutal civil war was openly attacked by conservative columnists. Ten days after Gen. Ríos Montt was found guilty last May, Guatemala’s constitutional court annulled the conviction on an obscure technical point. |
| In February, the same court, Guatemala’s highest, ruled in favor of a complaint brought by a conservative businessman that cut short Ms. Paz y Paz’s term by seven months. | In February, the same court, Guatemala’s highest, ruled in favor of a complaint brought by a conservative businessman that cut short Ms. Paz y Paz’s term by seven months. |