Guatemalan Judge Who Exposed Corruption Flees to US After Citing Fears for His Life
Ruano calls his treatment ‘one of the worst moments for justice’ in his country
A police officer shows guns seized in the outskirts of Guatemala City.
Photographer: Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images
A Guatemalan judge facing criminal prosecution for exposing a Supreme Court justice’s attempts to influence him fled the country this week — the latest challenge to a national judicial system plagued by accusations of corruption and political vengeance.
Carlos Ruano, who last month was featured in a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation about increasing US gun exports to Guatemala, said Thursday he was in Virginia and had been granted asylum by American authorities because of fears for his safety in the face of escalating personal threats in his home country.