Crackdown Begins in Guatemala

A Twitter user was arrested today in Guatemala, as thousands of people took to the streets for the third consecutive day, calling for President Alvaro Colom to step down. Mr. Colom, his wife, and his private secretary are accused of orchestrating the murder of a whistleblower attorney. The lawyer, Rodrigo Rosenberg, was murdered near his Guatemala City home on Sunday. He left behind a video in which he accuses the president and his lackeys of using a state-owned bank to launder money and defraud taxpayers. Twitter user “Jeanfer” wrote a post on Tuesday suggesting that people who have money in that bank should withdraw it, in order to drain the resources of the corrupt mafia. He was arrested during a police raid of his home on charges of “inciting financial panic.” His arrest has sparked another form of protest among those who fear this is the beginning of a crackdown on freedom of speech in the country: they are retwitting Jeanfer’s post.