By: Staff Writer
February 24, 2023
Central American countries are at an all-time low on the Corruption index as violence fuelled by drug trafficking choke them out day by day.
Transparency International published its annual “Corruption Index” which ranks 180 countries on their Corruption Perception Index said that Cuba and Guatemala hit an “all time low” with its rank at 45 and 24 respectively and Honduras (23), Nicaragua (19) and Haiti (17) having all significantly declined this year.
Venezuela is the lowest in the region at 14
Throughout Latin America, leaders have failed to take decisive action against corruption and strengthen public institutions. This has allowed criminal networks to strengthen their hold, wielding significant power over politicians in many countries and aggravating violence in the region with the highest per capita homicide rate. To tackle such crime and gang violence, some governments are consolidating control in the executive branch, undermining transparency and accountability – and threatening human rights while opening up more opportunities for corruption and abuse.
“Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict – and endanger people everywhere. The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few,” Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International.
She added: “Pervasive corruption across the Americas fuels the many other crises facing the region. Weak governments fail to stop criminal networks, social conflict and violence, and some exacerbate threats to human rights by concentrating power in the name of tackling insecurity. The only way forward is for leaders to prioritise decisive action against corruption to uproot its hold and enable governments to fulfil their first mandate: protecting the people.”
The report said that in Guatemala in particular, “…State institutions have been co-opted by political and economic elites and organised crime, all of whom protect their own interests at the expense of the majority of the population – triggering violence and threatening democracy in the country. This undue influence has led the government to restrict civic space, launching criminal investigations against journalists, activists and prosecutors. In January, the Special Prosecutor Against Impunity’s Office significantly reversed past progress against corruption by releasing an official charged for money laundering and then launching legal action against those who held him accountable.”
The Caribbean is not faring any better as the report added: “Weak law enforcement institutions and high levels of corruption have allowed drug cartels to expand to the Caribbean. In Transparency International’s 2019 Global Corruption Barometer, 50 per cent of the population in Jamaica (44) and 61 per cent in Trinidad and Tobago (42) considered the police to be corrupt. While Trinidad and Tobago saw a decrease in homicides during the pandemic, crime remains a significant problem for both.”
The 2022 CPI analyses the connection between conflict, security and corruption – taking an in-depth look at how violence and corruption impact one another around the world. This year’s report will continue to compare levels of corruption over time, highlighting which countries have improved, regressed or stagnated.
In the Americas, corruption has weakened public institutions, allowing criminal networks to flourish, destabilising governments and increasing violence across the region. This vicious spiral most hurts those who are already in dire need, including indigenous and Afro-descendent groups, LGBTQ communities, women and girls, as well as decimating the environment and natural resources.
Without question the flow of drugs and guns through the region is a deep and pervasively endemic problem that scales all sectors of the society. No one is safe from the drug culture’s grasp as easy money has led to weakened institutions and more people willing to be corrupt.