Guatemala used US-sourced jeeps to ‘intimidate’ US Embassy: GAO report

Guatemalan officials in 2018 circled the U.S. Embassy in U.S.-sourced military jeeps in an operation interpreted by American diplomats as an “act of intimidation,” according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

The offending patrols happened in late August 2018 after former Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced his intention to expel members of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a United Nations anti-corruption panel that had set its sights on Morales.

According to [Defense Department (DOD)] and State documentation, on the day the decision was announced, seven DOD-provided weapons mounted Jeeps circled the U.S. Embassy and were later observed parked on a street directly in front of the CICIG headquarters in Guatemala City. The U.S. government viewed this as an act of intimidation, according to DOD officials,” reads the GAO report.

The jeeps were provided to Guatemala as security assistance to aid the country in counter-narcotics activity, but were not subject to a program where Pentagon officials monitor the end-use of sensitive military equipment abroad.

According to the report, U.S. officials raised the issue of misuse with their Guatemalan counterparts, who said the jeeps were not used for intimidation purposes, but to “protect different justice and security entities.”

The Hill has reached out to the Guatemalan Embassy in Washington for comment.

“I am appalled by today’s GAO report, which provides unequivocal evidence that the Guatemalan government grossly misused military Jeeps provided by the United States on multiple occasions, including using them to intimidate American embassy officials,” said Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.), a Guatemala-born legislator who was a fierce advocate for CICIG’s mission.

Still, Defense officials investigated other incidents where the jeeps were allegedly used for purposes not included in the agreement to transfer them from the United States to Guatemala.

In October 2018, the jeeps were allegedly spotted patrolling the University of San Carlos campus in Guatemala City, where students were protesting against Morales.

And State Department officials sent a diplomatic note to Guatemala requesting information on patrols allegedly misusing the jeeps in Guatemala City in 2019.

Another incident of alleged misuse happened under current President Alejandro Giammattei’s administration, when the jeeps were allegedly used to suppress protests against a mining company in El Estor, Guatemala.