GUATEMALA: U.N.-backed commission clears President Alvaro Colom of any wrongdoing in lawyer's murder

Record ID: 318953

  • Title: GUATEMALA: U.N.-backed commission clears President Alvaro Colom of any wrongdoing in lawyer's murder
  • Date: 13th January 2010
  • Summary: EXTERIOR OF NATIONAL PALACE GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA (FILE) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF ROSENBERG'S VIDEOTAPED SPEECH (NOT A SOUNDBITE) VARIOUS OF PROTESTS AGAINST COLOM ROSENBERG'S PICTURE HELD BY PROTESTER MEMORIAL FOR ROSENBERG / CRIME SCENE
  • Embargoed: 28th January 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Guatemala
  • Country: Guatemala
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA8FE2YUK7T1IR4U0SMK164EAO1
  • Story Text: A U.N.-backed commission has cleared Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom of links to a scandal that erupted last year when a lawyer recorded a video before he was murdered that accused the president of ordering the hit.
    International investigators working with local prosecutors and supported by the United Nations said on Tuesday (January 12) that Rodrigo Rosenberg, gunned down in a wealthy Guatemala City suburb in May, actually plotted the murder himself to frame the president and spark a social outcry.
    "Who planned the act? We have to conclude that it was Rodrigo Rosenberg himself. Rodrigo Rosenberg for some reason decided to end his life, he asked relatives who aren't really relatives, who are cousins of his first wife, they are (their surname is) Valdez Paiz. His first wife was (surnamed) Paiz Toriello," said Carlos Castresana, the head of the independent commission set up in 2007 to give support to the weak justice system in Guatemala.
    The day after he was killed, a recorded video and a written statement was delivered to the Guatemalan media with Rosenberg saying that Colom wanted him dead.
    Rosenberg -- who was suffering from serious personal problems after a messy divorce, the death of his mother and the double murder of his client and his girlfriend -- said in his speech that Colom, the first lady and one of the president's advisors were embezzling government funds and laundering drug money.
    He blamed Colom for the murder in April 2009 of one of his clients, prominent businessman Khalil Musa, along with Musa's daughter Marjorie, who was Rosenberg's girlfriend.
    Rosenberg said on the tape he thought Musa was killed because he knew about the money laundering plot.
    Castresana said Rosenberg hired his own killers by convincing two distant relatives he was being extorted and needed to find a paid hitman to kill the extortionists.
    The relatives apparently did not know Rosenberg was actually the target of his own plan. He even sent himself threatening messages from a different cell phone.
    "The intellectual authors behind the crime are the Valdez Pais brothers and there is no one else. They are sui generis intellectual authors because they are not enemies of Rodrigo Rosenberg, they are nearly relatives, intimate friends. They have no reason to kill him, but they don't know the one who will die is Rodrigo Rosenberg," Castresana added.
    In a news conference Colom, a center-leftist, hailed the findings of the commission as a victory and said the country could now leave the scandal behind.
    "On May 11 last year we were accused of causing a tragic death, without proof or foundation. I have waited in silence for months and with great patience for the day when this crime would be cleared up," Colom said.
    "I would like to thank Sandra (Colom's wife) and Gustabo's (Gustabo Alejos, Colom's private secretary) bravery. We have shared this disgraceful ordeal for eight months," he added.
    The scandal sparked a flurry of anti-government protests calling for Colom's resignation and the case was passed to the commission.
    Rosenberg recorded the ominous video with the help of friends, apparently thinking the murder scandal would spark a public movement against Colom's government.
    "If you are watching this message it is because I have been murdered by Alvaro Colom," Rosenberg said in a spine-chilling 20-minute videotaped speech.
    A memorial for him was set up in the capital after TV images of his crime scene were aired.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Audio restrictions: This clip's Audio includes copyrighted material. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing the audio contained in this clip.
Register