Guatemala anti-corruption commission submits final report

GUATEMALA CITY – A final report by the U.N.-backed anti-corruption commission in Guatemala says the body helped bring 120 cases resulting in charges against 1,540 people.

The commission is known by its Spanish initials CICIG. It has operated for 12 years, but outgoing President Jimmy Morales refused to renew its mandate.

The commission will cease operations and leave the Central American nation after Sept. 3.

Commission head Iván Velásquez has been prohibited from entering Guatemala, but he said via video Tuesday that the anti-corruption push had been helped by the hard work of Guatemalan prosecutors, judges and police.

Velásquez said: “In these 12 years, the CICIG has helped expose the networks and perpetrators of impunity in Guatemala.”

The body oversaw one case that landed former President Otto Pérez Molina in jail.