Casino magnate Sheldon G. Adelson in attendance at the 4th Annual Champions Of Jewish Values International Awards Gala at Marriott Marquis Times Square on May 5, 2016, in New York City. (Steve Mack/Getty Images via JTA)
GUATEMALA CITY — United States casino magnate Sheldon Adelson provided Guatemala’s official delegation a Boeing 767 to travel to Israel for the relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a Guatemalan government official said Friday.
Guatemalan foreign minister Sandra Jovel said Adelson provided the plane last week to carry government officials and guests, including religious leaders.
Jovel made the comments on radio show ConCriterio, ending days of speculation in Guatemala about who paid for the trip.
Manfredo Marroquin, director of civil society organization Citizen Action, said President Jimmy Morales’s administration violated Guatemalan law, which forbids accepting such gifts.
Guatemala’s human rights prosecutor, Jordan Rodas, also said the arrangement with Adelson was concerning.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (3rd-L) Guatemala President Jimmy Morales (C) and Guatemalan Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel (2R) at the official opening of the Guatemalan embassy in Jerusalem on May 16, 2018. (Marc Israel Sellem/Pool/Flash90)
“You don’t know if what he’s doing is laying the groundwork for personal interests,” Rodas said.
Jovel emphasized that Adelson did not have business interests in Guatemala.
Morales’s decision to move Guatemala’s embassy just two days after the US did the same was seen by many as an attempt to curry favor with US President Donald Trump.
Advertisement
Morales has been battling aggressive prosecutors looking to investigate corruption allegations swirling around him. Local prosecutors are supported by a United Nations anti-corruption commission that is funded in part by the US.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
