LatinNews Daily - 28 November 2022

Guatemala: On 18 November the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on one Russian individual, Dmitry Kudryakov, and one Belarusian individual, Irina Gennadievna Litviniuk, for their role in corruptly exploiting the Guatemalan mining sector, as well as three associated entities connected with their corruption schemes. According to the US Department of the Treasury, Kudryakov, along with Litviniuk, “allegedly led multiple bribery schemes over several years involving politicians, judges, and government officials to advance Russian mining interests… These designations target an egregious Russian corruption network in order to disrupt its exploitative practices within the Guatemalan mining industry. The United States stands steadfastly with the people of Guatemala and supports their efforts to protect their country’s natural resources.” A 23 November statement by the US-based human rights lobby, Washington Office on Latin America (Wola) and other human rights groups welcomed the move saying that “dismantling Guatemala’s illicit networks behind the corruption and weakening of democracy requires these types of measures”. It adds that “this case in particular exemplifies how members of the private sector use their economic power to infiltrate government institutions and co-opt justice sector officials through bribes in order to illegally advance their interest.” It adds that “these sanctions also show how some in Guatemala’s mining sector have used their connections to the Guatemalan government to repress indigenous communities that oppose the exploitation of their natural resources. Human rights defenders in Guatemala have denounced how the army and the National Civilian Police have burned their land and used force to evict people.”

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