Friday, January 1, 2010

Source: Central American Politics

Here's an interesting and frustrating account of the murder and the apparent failure to seriously investigate the killing of an American reporter in Guatemala ten years ago from St. Louis Today.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the murder in Guatemala of Doniphan native and University of Missouri graduate Larry Lee. Not only has this crime not been solved, it has been virtually uninvestigated. Neither Guatemalan nor American officials seem too disturbed by that.

Larry, a decorated journalist, was in Guatemala as a full-time employee of BridgeNews, a division of St. Louis-based Bridge Information Systems, which went bust in 2001. He had been in Guatemala reporting on the country's coffee, sugar and financial industries for more than a year when he was found stabbed to death in his apartment on Dec. 27, 1999.

According to the story, forty-one Americans have been murdered in Guatemala since Mr. Lee's death with only a single conviction to date. Unfortunately, the US State Department and the Guatemalan authorities have shown little interest in solving the crime.

The 2.5% conviction rate for the murder of US citizens is not very different from the estimated 2% conviction rate for all murders in Guatemala in recent years which is disheartening. Here's a New Year's wish that the justice system in Guatemala finally makes substantial improvements at ending impunity.

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