In 2021, TraCCC received seed funding from a private donor to support anti-corruption defenders in Central America and help formulate policy to promote democracy, anti-corruption and the rule of law in the region.
Under the leadership of Dr. Claudia Escobar-Mejia, TraCCC sponsors regular meetings for a group of Guatemalan Anti-Corruption Defenders in-exile with US and international experts, both governmental and non-governmental, to help the two sides collaborate to develop strategies and projects to promote democracy, anti-corruption and the rule of law. We have hosted webinars on the problems of corruption in the region. These include:
- Three organized events for stakeholders: Will Central America Be Our Next Afghanistan? (held on Oct 14, 2021); Corruption and Impunity in Guatemala Today (held on Nov 10, 2021); A Comprehensive Approach to Tackling Corruption in Guatemala (held on Apr 28, 2022).
- Numerous publications and media interviews, including with Foreign Affairs, Americas Quarterly, CNN, El Pais, and Agencia Ocote.
- Numerous briefings of congressional staff members and US government officials at the Departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security, NSC and USTOC.
In addition, through our Anti-Illicit Trade Institute (AITI), TraCCC has offered scholarships to Central American NGO anti-corruption specialists for online courses on money laundering and its links to corruption, kleptocracy, and authoritarian states. We have reached more than a dozen specialists since early Fall 2021.
Dr. Yulia Krylova also authored an article about this issue, entitled, “Outsourcing the Fight against Corruption: Lessons from the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala.”