CICIG's broad remit has led it into cases where its critics say it has no business.

ECONOMIST: Justice in Central America

For the first time, polls show that CICIG is less popular than the attorney-general's office.

ECONOMIST: Justice in Central America

The ultimate test of CICIG's work will be whether Guatemala's authorities can do the agency's job for themselves.

ECONOMIST: Justice in Central America

The businessmen say they back CICIG and intended the criticism to be constructive.

ECONOMIST: Justice in Central America

One way to evaluate CICIG is whether Guatemala's neighbours choose to copy it.

ECONOMIST: Justice in Central America

Porfirio Lobo, Honduras's president, wants the UN to set up an independent agency to fight impunity, similar to Guatemala's CICIG.

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CICIG's mandate runs for two years from last September, when the agreement setting it up was ratified by Guatemala's Congress.

ECONOMIST: A new UN body tries to fix a broken justice system

In fact, CICIG was permanently supervised and its accounts audited by the United Nations Development Programme, as that was the agency which managed the donor countries' trust fund.

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An apparently strong case against Alfonso Portillo, a former president, for stealing public funds, was dismissed by a court in May, which CICIG took as evidence of the judiciary's continuing corruption.

ECONOMIST: Justice in Central America