Analysts suspect there is more than just a guilty conscience behind Noack's words. He and other officers associated with the peace process, such as Guatemala's military attache in Washington, Gen. Otto Perez Molina, were not favored by the last round of changes in army high command. The colonel's recipe for change has the savor of political ambition. The U.S. government has agreed to provide asylum for two witnesses in the case against alleged smuggling kingpin Alfredo Moreno. According to case prosecutors cited by the daily Prensa Libre, in total some 40 witnesses will be sent abroad in order to ensure their safety.
Prosecutors working on the case also report receiving death threats.
Moreno was arrested in September 1996 as part of an anti-corruption drive that led to the dismissal of more than 40 army, police, and customs officials. More than a year and a half since peace was signed here, seven Guatemalan guerrillas imprisoned in Mexico have finally come home. The repatriation is the product of almost two years of negotiations and a recently signed prisoner exchange treaty between Guatemala and its northern neighbor. The Reconciliation Law, which includes a pardon for certain crimes committed in the context of the civil war here, was passed by the Guatemalan Congress in December 1996 and extends to both the Guatemalan army and URNG members. The prisoners, however, preferred not to comment on their return.