lunes, octubre 22, 2007

El arte del asesinato político

Mi amigo El Enmascarado me envió el comentario del New York Times sobre el libro de Francisco Goldman, The Art of Political Murder, que salió hace poco en EEUU y que ya vende Sophos en Guatemala.

Les transcribo aquí el texto del NYT escrito por Carolyn Curiel, ex embajadora de EEUU en Belice:

'As a novelist, Francisco Goldman has mined Guatemalan misery and magic, most notably in his semiautobiographical Long Night of White Chickens, in which the protagonist investigates the murder of a young woman who was like a sister to him. In The Art of Political Murder, his first book of nonfiction, Goldman returns to Guatemala to try to solve a real killing, that of Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera, a Roman Catholic human rights advocate. Becoming by turns a little bit Columbo, Jason Bourne and Seymour Hersh, Goldman gives us the anatomy of a crime while opening a window to a misunderstood neighboring country that is flirting with anarchy. More, he offers an overdue indictment of brutal war criminals who were not just behind the one killing, but also contributed to a generation of atrocities.

'Gerardi was murdered as he returned to his Guatemala City residence on April 26, 1998. Two days earlier he had released a four-volume report on the civil war that formally ended in 1996, after it had claimed some 200,000 lives over four decades. The indigenous Mayan population, which makes up about 40 percent of the people in Guatemala and a majority of which is poor, suffered most: villages were erased, while fear fed docility. The bishop’s commission nonetheless extracted chilling firsthand accounts of torture and massacres conducted by an army intent on ridding the country of left-wing guerrillas. The distinction between villagers and armed rebels often got lost, and rights workers, labor leaders and clergy members came to be seen as enemies of the state.

'It’s a familiar theme in Latin America, but in Guatemala, the violence seems to have a particularly white-knuckled grip. Goldman, whose mother is Guatemalan and who spent much of his youth in the country, explains the bishop’s murder in the context of an unfortunate history in which well-meaning American support for military and intelligence operations helped create an elite class bent on perpetuating itself.

'Gerardi believed that his report, Guatemala: Never Again, would help avert future atrocities. He knew he would ruffle more than a few epaulets, even with the amnesty granted the military in the peace accords. He had already survived one assassination attempt and then spent three years in self-preserving exile in Costa Rica. For years, Goldman writes, the military eavesdropped illegally on Gerardi and tracked his movements. On the day he was fatally bludgeoned, one of the killers, Sgt. Maj. Obdulio Villanueva, was clandestinely sprung from his prison cell (where he was serving a sentence for a previous murder) for the few hours needed to commit the crime. Homeless squatters outside the bishop’s home may have been given drugged food and drink. The killers had not counted on a passing taxi driver noting the license plate number of a military vehicle at the scene.

'Goldman’s intricate and insightful reporting of the crime and the trial recalls that of Gabriel García Márquez in News of a Kidnapping, which traced the 1990 abduction of 10 prominent Colombians (two of whom were murdered) by narcotics traffickers seeking leverage against extradition to the United States. But Goldman’s task was more complicated. He spent about seven years investigating the case, knowing that even Guatemalans had stopped paying close attention. He understands he is taking on thugs but throws himself into the murky depths, coaxing details from investigators for the Roman Catholic Church and the United Nations. In pursuing leads, he forms what passes for a bond with a Mayan accomplice-turned-informant he finds hiding in Mexico, who approaches Hannibal Lecter creepiness.

'Heroically penetrating the thicket of lies and misdirection, Goldman praises Guatemala’s patriots, those who keep doing their thankless jobs in the face of intimidation and worse. Before the trial reached a conclusion, prosecutors received death threats, potential witnesses mysteriously died, a judge’s residence was attacked with grenades and investigators, particularly those known as the Untouchables, were wiretapped. After the verdict, a lead attorney’s brother was killed, his limbs first torn away.

'Elaborate attempts to paint the murder as something else — a crime of homosexual passion, an attack by an arthritic German shepherd (which dies before its name is cleared), a gang robbery gone wrong — ultimately fail. A three-judge panel convicts not only Villanueva, but also a former counterinsurgency commander, Col. Byron Disrael Lima Estrada; his captain son; and a priest who had a room at the bishop’s residence (and who may have been most guilty of keeping silent to protect his private life). The longest sentences, 30 years for the military men, are later reduced to 20, although Villanueva is killed (perhaps conveniently) in a prison riot.

'But justice remains incomplete. Goldman suggests that the mastermind of the murder may still be free, and that it may be Otto Pérez Molina, a former general who is campaigning for president on a law-and-order platform (a runoff election is scheduled for Nov. 4). Goldman effectively discounts as propaganda the efforts to absolve Pérez Molina and the military of any responsibility for Gerardi’s murder.

'Goldman’s theory on the general’s culpability has gotten attention in Guatemala, where 50 candidates and political activists have died in the bloodiest political campaign there ever. Meanwhile, gang- and drug-related violence are on the rise, as are attacks on women. Against this backdrop, even a cautionary tale about the abuse of power can pale'.

5 comentarios:

gilcorzoj dijo...

Estimada Ana María:
No he tenido la oportunidad de leer el libro del autor Goldman. Estoy seguro que el mismo es una extensión del artículo que el autor escribió hace años en la revista 'New Yorker'.
Dicho escrito parecía el guión de una pelicula.

Saludos desde Boston

Anónimo dijo...

Ah, no sé nada del artículo, pero el libro habrá salido al mercado hace unas cuantas semanas. Saludos.

Anónimo dijo...

[url=http://kfarbair.com][img]http://www.kfarbair.com/_images/_photos/photo_big8.jpg[/img][/url]

מלון [url=http://www.kfarbair.com]כפר בעיר[/url] - [url=http://www.kfarbair.com/about.html]חדרים[/url] גדולים אנחנו מציעים שירותי אירוח מיוחדים כמו כן ישנו במקום שירות חדרים המכיל [url=http://www.kfarbair.com/eng/index.html]סעודות רומנטיות[/url] במחירים מפתיעים אשר מוגשות ישירות לחדרכם.

לפרטים נוספים אנא גשו לעמוד המלון - [url=http://kfarbair.com]כפר בעיר[/url] [url=http://www.kfarbair.com/contact.html][img]http://www.kfarbair.com/_images/apixel.gif[/img][/url]

Anónimo dijo...

Among other games, football is considered as the most watched sporting event on the globe. Millions of football fans die hard to witness the biggest sporting event either on web or television. Some percentage of those people often turn excited and place bets on the outcome of the games to make few winning bucks. nfl betting baseball betting basketball betting boxing betting cricket betting darts betting football betting golf betting handball betting hockey betting rugby betting snooker betting tennis betting An online sportsbook is a site where patrons can bet on different sports competitions including golf, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse racing, boxing, and just about any other sport you can think of. The method of betting differs with the sport and the type of the game being played. In the United States there are about 150 legal sportsbooks that are situated in Nevada. Betting on sports is fully legal in many countries and it is well known with people who like to gamble. [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/American-Football]nfl betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Baseball-betting]baseball betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Basketball-betting]basketball betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Boxing-betting]boxing betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Cricket-betting]cricket betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Darts-betting]darts betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Football-betting]football betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Golf-betting]golf betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Handball-betting]handball betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Hockey-betting]hockey betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Rugby-betting]rugby betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Snooker-betting]snooker betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Tennis-betting]tennis betting[/url] Expert betting exchanges available online plays similar role as a bookmaker .Football betting guides are blended with simple football betting tips and makes you aware about the bookmakers had made their yearly profits and learn them tips to make quick cash. http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/American-Football http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Baseball-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Basketball-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Boxing-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Cricket-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Darts-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Football-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Golf-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Handball-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Hockey-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Rugby-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Snooker-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Tennis-betting

Anónimo dijo...

Hi,

I begin on internet with a directory