My latest article, The Strange Case of Rodrigo Rosenberg, is up at Real Clear World.
Prior posts:
Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America: Guatemala and the Rosenberg tape
Podcast
Guatemala: The Rosenberg Video
Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America: Guatemala and the Rosenberg tape
Rodrigo Rosenberg, who was killed last Sunday in Guatemala while riding his bicycle, left a tape accusing president Alvaro Colom of his death. Rosenberg also left a letter left a three-page long letter accusing Colom of money laundering, use of public funds, and fronting businesses for narco-traffickers. In the tape, Rosenberg stated the country’s vice-president was not involved in these crimes.
I posted the original video, but here’s the video with subtitles,
The “more info” section at this YouTube translates the rest.
Noticias 24 reports that a journalist taped the video. The Guardian:
In the recording Rosenberg, appearing calm and wearing a suit and tie, said a former client, businessman Khalil Musa, angered the government by refusing to collaborate in alleged deals involving a development bank and “non-existent” social programmes headed by Sandra de Colom, the president’s wife. In March the businessman and his daughter, Marjorie Musa, were shot dead.
In addition to the first lady, Rosenberg named Gustavo Alejos, the president’s private secretary, and Gregorio Valdez, a businessman with links to the government, as accomplices in the alleged conspiracy which involved drug trafficking, money laundering and front companies.
Guatemala rejects allegations of role in lawyer’s death; the Wall Street Journal reports that the Dead Lawyer’s Video Pitches Guatemala Into Crisis
I’ll talk about this in this morning’s podcast. Chat’s open at 10:45AM.
Guatemala: The Rosenberg video
Like something out of an episode of Mystery,
Slain lawyer accuses Guatemala’s president in tape
GUATEMALA CITY — A lawyer slain by gunmen over the weekend appears in a video tape that emerged Monday alleging that if anything happened to him it would be at the behest of Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom.
…
Lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg was shot to death by unidentified assailants while riding his bicycle Sunday, the newspaper El Periodico de Guatemala said.In the video distributed to local media, Rosenberg says: “If you are watching this message, it is because I was assassinated by President Alvaro Colom with help from Gustavo Alejos,” the president’s private secretary.
Former interior minister Adela de Torrebiarte, who knew Rosenberg, said he was the man on the video.
The director of El Periodico, Juan Luis Font, said the accusation was distributed to media in audio format at Rosenberg’s funeral and later in the video.
Rosenberg says on the tape that officials might want to kill him because he represented businessman Khalil Musa, who was killed along with his daughter Marjorie in March. Rosenberg alleged those killings were in retaliation for Musa’s refusal to engage in acts of corruption that Colom purportedly invited him to participate in.
Noticias 24 quotes Rosenberg saying, “with the approval of Mr. Álvaro Colom and of [his wife] Sandra de Colom.
Here’s the full video in Spanish,
Declaraciones de Rodrigo Rosenberg (Completo) from Prensa Libre on Vimeo.
Rosenberg also left a three-page long letter accusing Colom of money laundering, use of public funds, and fronting businesses for narco-traffickers.