Argentina

• Daniel Politi, “Former Argentine President's Homes Searched in Corruption Inquiry” (The New York Times, August 24, 2018).

The investigation was begun after the newspaper La Nación obtained notebooks belonging to a driver who took meticulous notes about bags of cash he purportedly ferried around the city

Colombia

• “Asi se Roban la Tierra en Colombia” (Mongabay, Semana (Colombia), August 24, 2018).

Funcionarios públicos como notarios, registradores y jueces se alían con los criminales para amenazar a los campesinos y obligarlos a vender a precios muy por debajo del valor real de los predios

• Courtney Kube, “Special Forces Soldier Charged With Smuggling Colombian Cocaine” (NBC News, August 20, 2018).

Army Master Sgt. Daniel Gould, assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group, was arrested after Drug Enforcement Administration agents found 40 kilograms of cocaine in two backpacks on a military airplane in Colombia

• “Tras Investigacion de Semana, Procuraduria Llama a Juicio a General y Coroneles de Inteligencia Militar” (Semana (Colombia), August 17, 2018).

En una decisión sin precedentes, Fernando Carrillo decidió abrir procesos contra tres altos oficiales, en medio del escándalo de desvío de fondos reservados y el presunto espionaje ilegal al interior del Comando de las Fuerzas Militares

El Salvador

• “Editorial: Saca, Funes y Muchos Mas Que 40 Ladrones” (El Faro (El Salvador), August 16, 2018).

Su confesión es una ventana a estructuras de corrupción que van más allá de su presidencia y sus lujos, y debe dar lugar a investigaciones que lleguen mucho más lejos

• Bryan Avelar, “A Former el Salvador President's Story of How He Stole” (InsightCrime, August 15, 2018).

Saca, who was arrested in 2016, had made a deal with the Attorney General’s Office: If he confessed, he would face a lighter sentence

Guatemala

• Hector Silva Avalos, Steven Dudley, “President Jimmy Morales' (and Guatemala's) 'Original Sin'” (InsightCrime, August 24, 2018).

The circle is nearly closed. Jimmy Morales, who won power precisely because of his predecessor’s corruption, is now facing down accusations that he committed some of the same transgressions. It was a biblical lesson he apparently missed

• Hector Silva Avalos, “New Guatemala Ag Puts Jimmy Morales in Her Crosshairs” (InsightCrime, August 17, 2018).

The move has quelled doubts about Porras’ independence and further isolated Guatemala’s embattled president

• Felipe Puerta, Steven Dudley, “Guatemala Politics and the Patriotic Party's Theory of ‘Eternal Return'” (InsightCrime, August 17, 2018).

The Pérez Molina and Baldetti government clearly understood that in order to be in politics and make money in Guatemala, corrupt politicians and businessmen use what they call “quotas of power,” or favors, which open doors to contracts and government benefits

• Angelika Albaladejo, “Guatemala's Corruption Should Be at the Top of Trump's Agenda” (CNN, August 9, 2018).

Powerful Guatemalan politicians and businessmen accused in the investigations have been repeatedly trying to undermine the CICIG and stop the investigations against them and their allies, including through recent overtures to Washington

• Felipe Puerta, Hector Silva Avalos, “Guatemala President Uses Interior Ministry to Weaken Anti-Graft Body” (InsightCrime, July 25, 2018).

On July 4, the Interior Ministry withdrew 20 officers assigned as security to the facilities and personnel of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala

Honduras

• Mike Lasusa, “In Honduras, a Congressman's Threats Scream of Desperation” (InsightCrime, August 10, 2018).

Nájera’s response to the move by the US Congress fits into a broader pattern of elites accused of corruption trying to muddy the waters by impugning the reputations of others

Mexico

• John Holman, “Mexico Police Officers 'Underpaid, Under-Equipped'” (Al Jazzeera, August 7, 2018).

Half of the 10 retired or active officers who agreed to speak to Al Jazeera, admitted that in their force some sort of quota system existed

Peru

• Pierina Pighi Bel, “"La Indignacion en Peru Es Comparable Con la Que Derribo a Fujimori": Gustavo Gorriti, Periodista Que Revelo el Escandalo Lava Juez y Causo un Sismo en la Justicia” (BBC (UK), August 15, 2018).

Desde el 7 de julio, unos audios dejaron al descubierto que en vez de administrar justicia, unos jueces y fiscales se habían dedicado a delinquir