Justice in the US?

Published in Prensa Libre
(Guatemala) on 30 May 2013
by Margarita Carrera (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Deonca Williams. Edited by Eva Langman.
Our system of justice, a Guatemalan justice, has never dared try a U.S. citizen, and not because all the gringos who come to Guatemala are saints, but because they know how to get away with murder. The mere thought of touching a gringo is unheard of. They have power and the support of the entire world. No one can attack them; no one can prosecute them. Furthermore, it is prohibited. Yes, they can be tried, but only in the United States — despite the fact that they commit atrocities in other countries.

How many times have we seen in a Guatemalan newspaper that a gringo was tried for crimes committed in our country? Maybe not today, but back in the days of United Fruit Company — more specifically in the time period when President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán was thrown out and persecuted for being a communist, or at least because he was presumed to be one — this did happen.

I relive the immense pain I felt when Castillo Armas replaced Arbenz Guzmán. It really hurt to read the newspapers and watch the television where awful things were said about Arbenz and evil actions committed against him. Not only was Arbenz handsome, he was intelligent and not a sellout. All those derogatory comments hurt me deep down in my core, but I had to remain silent because I was a secretary at a school, the College Preparatory High School, where my aunts were die-hard Castillo supporters. On the outside I was silent, but on the inside I was suffering.

I could only confide in my boyfriend. I dared to share my ideals with him, whether he accepted them or not. But as he was deeply in love with me, he kept silent about my ideas in front of his family, which was full of strong Castillo supporters.

But then came the day when Castillo Armas was assassinated. His murder did not change anything. His followers were mainly members of the military, all reactionary people but none with a revolutionary zeal. The political left was swept in and out of Guatemala. Yes, we were all communists, but revolutionaries are not necessarily communists.

Back then I was too young to publish my thoughts in the newspaper. At that time, I only wrote poetry that Pedro Julio César García and César Brañas published for me in The Impartial, now defunct and replaced by the Free Press, which is still a young publication.

I had two good friends, however, who thought like me: Ruth Diaz Alvarez and Mimi Lozano. The latter is the daughter of Honduran writer Argentina Diaz Lozano, who worked with me at the Institute of Anthropology and History when it was located in the Aurora National Park.

We did not believe in U.S. justice. We were strong supporters of Arévalo, first and foremost, and then Arbenz. The three of us met to exchange opinions, since we shared the same ideals.

Now comes the case of Alfonso Portillo, who is being tried in the United States. He should be tried in his own country, Guatemala, and not abroad.

I boldly speak up for him, as he is a fellow Guatemalan. He should not be delivered to the gringos. He has the right to stay in Guatemala. We are not idiots; we know unjust acts when we see them.

Portillo is not a murderer. He has killed no one — neither gringo nor Guatemalan. If he has stolen, then that is another story. We have courts in Guatemala. They may likely function properly in Portillo’s case, but it seems no one wants to try him in Guatemala. But should his case be tried here, he would most likely be found guilty. People even already believe he is guilty. He is well known and highly disliked. Will he have any friends to listen to him? Friends that can forgive him? After all, he caused no serious harm. The question remains as to the outcome of his trial in the United States. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Patterson has scheduled a hearing for June 28. I’m sure the evidence against Portillo will be overwhelming. I am sure he will be condemned and held in a gringo jail. And as it so often has, I’m sure Guatemala will duck its head rather than stand straight.


30/05/13 - 00:00 OPINIÓN
¿Justicia estadounidense?
Nuestra justicia, la justicia guatemalense, jamás se ha atrevido a juzgar a un ciudadano estadounidense, y no porque todos los gringos que vienen a Guatemala son unos santos, sino porque estos, al hacer un robo, saben hacerlo sin que los pesque nadie. Eso de tocar a un gringo, ni pensarlo. Ellos tienen el poder del mundo. Nadie puede atacarlos, nadie puede enjuiciarlos. Además, ellos no lo permitirían. Juzgarlo, sí, pero en Estados Unidos, aunque haya cometido atrocidades en otros países.
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MARGARITA CARRERA
¿Cuándo hemos leído en un periódico guatemalteco que un gringo fue juzgado por los crímenes cometidos en nuestra patria? Quizá no en la actualidad, pero sí en la época de la United Fruit Company, sobre todo en la época en que botaron a nuestro presidente Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, quien fue perseguido en todos los lugares que estaba porque era “comunista” o sospechoso de serlo.
Aún revivo el inmenso dolor que sentí cuando pusieron a Castillo Armas en su lugar. Me dolía leer los periódicos o ver la televisión. Todas las noticias a favor de él y todas las acciones malas en contra de Árbenz. Aquel hombre que, además de bello, era inteligente y no se había querido vender. Todo lo que hablaban contra él me dolía en el alma, pero debía permanecer callada pues trabajaba en el “Colegio La Preparatoria”, de secretaria, con mis tías Molina Llardén que eran rematadas castilloarmistas. Silencio por fuera y dolor por dentro.
Solo a mi novio me atreví a decirle mis ideales, allá él si los aceptaba o no, allá él si rompía conmigo por lo que pensaba. Pero estaba muy enamorado de mí, así que guardó él también mi silencio frente a su familia totalmente castilloarmista.
Pero llegó un día en que Castillo Armas fue asesinado. Con tal asesinato no cambió nada. Los que le siguieron fueron sobre todo militares, todos reaccionarios, ninguno con algún afán revolucionario. La izquierda fue barrida por dentro y fuera de Guatemala. Pero en absoluto éramos comunistas, revolucionarios no quiere decir, necesariamente, comunistas.
Yo era muy joven para escribir en los periódicos mis pensamientos. En esa época, además, solo escribía poesía, que Pedro Julio García y César Brañas me publicaban en El Imparcial —diario ya desaparecido— y el nuevo periódico Prensa Libre, en sus inicios.
Sin embargo, tenía dos buenas amigas que pensaban como yo: Ruth Álvarez y Mimí Díaz Lozano, hija de la escritora hondureña Argentina Díaz Lozano, quien trabajaba conmigo en el Instituto de Antropología e Historia, cuando este quedaba en el Parque Nacional La Aurora.
No creíamos en la justicia estadounidense, éramos, primero arevalistas y, luego, arbencistas. Nos reuníamos las tres para cambiar opiniones, pues teníamos los mismos ideales.
Ahora surge el caso de Alfonso Portillo, a quien se le juzga en Estados Unidos culpable o no. Debe ser juzgado en Guatemala, su patria, no fuera de ella.
Me atrevo a alzar mi voz a favor de él como guatemalteca que soy. Que no lo entreguen a los gringos, que se quede en Guatemala. Nosotros no somos unos imbéciles y sabemos de las actuaciones justas e injustas.
Portillo no es un asesino. No ha matado a gringos ni a guatemaltecos. Si ha robado, es otra cosa. Aquí tenemos también Tribunales de Justicia. Puede que funcionen bien en su caso, pues parece que nadie lo quiere. Así que si se le juzga en Guatemala, de seguro se le declarará culpable. Antes de probarlo, ya todo el mundo lo sabe. Todo el mundo parece odiarlo. ¿Tendrá amigos que lo oigan? ¿Amigos que le perdonen si en algo muy serio los dañó? ¿Qué será de su caso en Estados Unidos?
“El juez estadounidense Robert Patterson fija audiencia para el 28 de junio”. Estoy segura de que las pruebas en su contra abundarán. Estoy segura de que será condenado y que será recluido en una cárcel gringa. Estoy segura de que Guatemala agachará la cabeza como tantas veces lo ha hecho.
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