On 22 May 2013 at 7AM, an extensive search was conducted by Tabasco state police at the Ranchería Lomitas in the municipal of Nacajuca. Agents discovered and confiscated more than 88 million pesos (US$7.14 million) in five cardboard boxes. The property is connected to former state treasurer José Manuel Saiz Pineda, a member of former Tabasco Governor Andrés Granier Melo’s (PRI) administration.

Saiz Pineda, whose current location is unknown, is suspected of embezzling funds deposited by federal programs into the state bank; he moved the bundles of cash from his office on Sánchez Magallanes street, in the center of the capital of Villahermosa, to the property in Nacajuca.

State Prosecutor Valenzuela Perna indicated that former Governor Granier Melo and former expenditure undersecretary would be required to testify about the suspected embezzlement. Previously, Granier Melo has bragged of having exceedingly expensive taste, but attributed his comments to being drunk.

Current governor Arturo Núñez (PRD) has accused Granier Melo of engaging in old-style corrupt PRI politics, leaving the state with massive debt. Perna attributed the discovery to state and federal investigations into the fiscal years 2009 through 2012, as well as into other crimes allegedly committed during the Granier Melo administration.

This corruption scandal surfaces as President Enrique Peña Nieto just put out a fire; Consumer Protection Attorney General Humberto Benítez was forced to step down after an abuse of power. Now, Peña Nieto must address the situation in Tabasco and reassure the Mexican public that his party, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), has changed.

Speech by Jorge Rosenblut
Washington, D.C, April 2013

I see two Latin Americas quietly but quickly emerging.

On 14 May 2013, news outlets in Costa Rica broke a story that President Laura Chinchilla made multiple trips on a private jet owned by THX Energy, a Colombian oil company with possible drug trafficking ties. Chinchilla attended the funeral of Hugo Chávez on 8 March 2013 in Caracas, Venezuela on that plane. She also went to the wedding of Vice President Luis Liberman’s son on 11 May 2013 and to meet with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala on 13 May 2013.

Fallout from the scandal took a large toll on Chinchilla and her administration. On 15 May 2013, Communications Minister Francisco Chacón and Chinchilla’s personal aid Irene Pacheco resigned under scrutiny related to the story. Chacón allegedly negotiated the loan of the aircraft with a man who self identified as Gabriel O'Falan. However, his real identity is thought to be Gabriel Morales Fallón, who has ties to Juan Carlos Ramírez, alias "Chupeta," leader of the Colombian the Norte del Valle drug cartel. Morales Fallón has no apparent connection to THX energy.

On 16 May 2013, Maurico Baraschi, who held the positions of Director of Intelligence and Security Division (DIS), Anti-Drug Commissioner, and Vice Minister of the Presidency and Security also stepped down for failing to properly verify the security of President Chinchilla.

On 17 May 2013, Celso Gamboa replaced Baraschi in all three positions. During a press conference, Gamboa reassured the public that drug traffickers had not infiltrated the government. Attorney General Jorge Chavarría confirmed the Attorney General’s Office would open an investigation to see if the scandal was a case of negligence or if public officials were recruited by a criminal organization.

On 27 April 2013, Valdinho Jacinto Caetano, Chief of Security for Major Events (Secretaria Extraordinária de Segurança de Grandes Eventos, SESGE) resigned. The departure of Caetano, formerly Inspector General for the Federal Police, signaled the second change in SESGE leadership since March. His predecessor, Luiz Carlos de Carvalho Cruz, was dismissed for involvement in a ponzi scheme. Caetano left because of conflicting views with the President’s Chief of Staff Gleisi Hoffmann and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces General José Carlos De Nardi, who want military personnel to take a more active role in event security than police at upcoming events. The upheaval comes just as Brazil prepares to host the Confederations Cup in June this year (then the World Cup and Summer Olympic games in 2014 and 2016 respectively).

Investigative journalists from El Diario de Hoy reported on the availability of internet access to prisoners in El Salvador who should not be connected. The abundance of Facebook accounts tied to incarcerated individuals illustrates a clear failure by the Prison General Directorate to stop the flow of contraband smartphones or to block the signal. Prison officials say that cell phone use by inmates started increasing after the gang truce in February 2012, despite an agreement not to smuggle cell phones into jail.

Argentina’s Senate is currently debating a new Anti-Money Laundering Bill which includes a tax amnesty for hidden dollar denominated assets. Currency pressure in Argentina is intense; the official exchange rate is about 5.2 pesos per U.S. dollar, but the black-market rate is more than 10 pesos per dollar. Yet the government has tried without avail to shore up its own liquid assets; in 2010 President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner modified the charter of the previously somewhat autonomous Central Bank to put US$6.6 billion in reserves at the disposal of her Treasury Department. Still, in April 2013, its international reserves fell to US$39 billion, the lowest level since CFK took office. She implemented strict currency controls, but has not been able to stem the tide of worried Argentines who stash dollars to insure themselves against inflation, estimated at around 25 percent a year, and fears of a peso devaluation.

At least one NGO, the Grupo de Accion Financiera Internacional (GAFI) expressed opposition to the current legislation, noting that Argentina is already on its “gray list” of countries that do not adhere to international anti-money laundering norms. GAFI indicated it would be highly irregular for a country to offer a tax amnesty on undeclared assets twice in a period of less than five years; Argentina already offered one such reprieve in 2009. Moreover, the timing is poor: on 14 April 2013 a scandal broke out when members of CFK’s inner circle alleged the President’s complicity in a money-laundering scheme by her friend Lazaro Baez, in interviews with the press. A successful businessman and confidant of former President Nestor Kirchner, Baez is now under investigation. Proponents of the new legislation argue that people under investigation for money-laundering cannot benefit from the new bill. Critics say the three-month pardon window does not contemplate the fact that some people who hold such undeclared assets may have come by them through drugs trafficking, political corruption, public fraud or other criminal activity.

Moreover, the new bill puts the onus on banks to determine and report on whether they suspect their clients are criminals. Many Argentines think that is an inappropriate delegation of authority and banks themselves are apprehensive about taking on such a responsibility.

On 13 May 2013, Tribunal Primero A de Mayor Riesgo announced Guatemala will pay reparations to the victims of genocide committed under the former dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt. External Relations Minister Fernando Carrera said the Ríos Montt genocide case sets an important international precedent and demonstrates that Guatemala has a strong judiciary capable of judging complicated cases.

However, Ríos Montt, 86, was not present for the delivery of this decision. His lawyer Francico García Gudiel shared that Ríos Montt was hospitalized on 13 May 2013 after fainting before entering the courtroom.

Since 10 May, Ríos Montt was under the custody of the Supreme Court at the military barracks at Matamoros. Military Doctor Carlos Álvarez stated that Ríos Montt is stable after passing out due to hypertension, as a result of recent stressful days, which affected his kidneys, liver, and other organs. He indicated Ríos Montt would remain in the medical facility for the next 72 hours to a week to complete further tests and ensure his recovery.

Ríos Montt was sentenced to 50 years in prison for genocide and another 30 years for crimes against humanity on 10 May 2013. He was deemed responsible for 15 massacres at the hands of the military, killing approximately 1,771 indigenous Mayas-Ixiles in the Quiché department between 1982 and 1983.

On 9 May 2013, the Colombian Defense Ministry announced the death of Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) leader Leonidas Zambrano Cardozo, alias Caliche. They report “Caliche” was killed on 4 May 2013 during a clash with the Army in Nariño, Colombia, on the border with Ecuador. Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón said “This is a big blow, a blow to the heart of this terrorist organization,” with regards to Zambrano’s death.

Zambrano was not only the head of an active mobile column, Jacobo Arenas, for 15 years, but he was also a confidant of “Pablo Catatumbo,” a FARC negotiator participating in the peace talks in Cuba. As a member of FARC for 30 years, “Caliche” was allegedly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks, assassinations, and kidnappings, especially in the department of Cauca.

This continues the gradual erosion of the FARC leadership as peace talks with the government are currently being held in Cuba.

On 4 May 2013, the new President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro accused the former President of Colombia (2002-2010) Álvaro Uribe Vélez of conspiring to assassinate him in coordination with the Venezuelan right. That accusation followed an allegation that Uribe played a role in the death of Jhonny González, a sports journalist for Líder, killed in La Urbina, Caracas, on 3 May 2013.

On 5 May 2013, Uribe denied the allegations via his Twitter account. On 6 May 2013, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos officially commented that the “dignity” of former presidents should be defended through diplomatic channels, and insults were inappropriate.

Uribe claims these false accusations are an attempt to distract from Maduro’s illegal ascent to power and corruption. Uribe’s lawyer, Jamie Granados, announced a plan to petition the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on 8 May 2013 for precautionary protection because Uribe feels his life is threatened.

In response to the planned petition, Maduro called Uribe a member of the “mafia” and a “criminal,” because gangsters are sent to murder someone and then report back seeking protection.

While accusations were being thrown back and forth, President Santos remained silent on the issues, not wanting to harm neighborly relations. On 6 May 2013, former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana Arango (1998-2002) wrote an open letter to Santos requesting he “break the silence” and support Uribe, despite political differences.

This is not the first incident where Maduro has accused important political figures in other countries of interference in Venezuela and assassination attempts. Prior to the April election, Maduro accused the right in El Salvador of assassination conspiracies.

On 2 May 2013, Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina declared a 30-day “state of emergency” in the southeastern municipalities of Mataquescuintla, Jalapa, San Rafael Las Flores, and Casillas following an outbreak of violence during mining protests. This declaration suspends citizens’ constitutional rights, which includes prohibiting gatherings and the possession of weapons, as well as permitting authorities to conduct raids without search warrants.

The Guatemalan government granted Canadian mining company, Tahoe Resources, an exploitation license on 3 April 2013, which sparked continuous demonstrations against mining in San Rafael Las Flores, in the state of Santa Rosa. On 27 April 2013, near Tahoe Resources’ El Escobal silver mine installation in San Rafael Las Flores, another confrontation between company security guards and the demonstrators grew violent. On 29 April 2013, people rallied in San Rafael Las Flores to protest President Pérez Molina’s comment that the public supported mining. On 30 April 2013, a police officer was killed during an attempt to evict protesters.

Also on 29 April 2013, in Santa María Xalapán, in the state of Jalapa, people assembled to object to the signing of a new royalty agreement between Tahoe Resources and the national and local governments. Protesters intercepted twenty-three National Civil Police (PNC) officers at La Laguna de Pito blockade, disarming and kidnapping them. After a few hours, authorities rescued the police, but injuring eight others and killing a demonstrator.

In addition to controlling violence revolving around the protest of mining operations, Press Secretary Francisco Cuervas commented that the “state of emergency” is also related to violence caused by the drug cartel, Los Zetas.