Crime and Punishm... well, more Crime.

So what's news? Well, one topic that never seems far from the minds and lives of most Guatemalans is: "crime and violence".

Which I admit doesn't make for very uplifting reading. (Or writing, for that matter.) But if you really want to know what's happening here, there's no way you can ignore these stories.

Not that there's nothing terribly graphic reported here, just a deadening sense that the battle for Guatemala's streets is being lost.

The first entry is from an article in today's Prensa Libre entitled "Towns without Police Presence".

[I should add here that all translations are mine, and I've linked to the original news story where possible!]

Eight communities in Guatemala are currently without any authorities to oversee their safety. Their police stations remain closed, and some of the installations still show the damage caused when throngs of angry residents -dissatisfied with police conduct- attacked the offices.

"We're not going back until there are minimal guarantees in those places where the police were expelled by mobs", stated Julio Hernandez Chavez, sub-director of operations for the National Police.

A police report states that two of the towns without police presence since last march are Ixtahuacán and Colotenango, in the department of Huehuetenango. Protestors there rebelled against police when the agents tried to forcefully break up a protest against the Free Trade Agreement - CAFTA." (One campesino farmer, Juan López Velásquez, was killed by security forces during the protest.)

Maria Cristina Monroy, who lives near yet another of the destroyed police stations, confirmed that people often take a stand against the police because they demand illegal bribes.

So what's the official answer to this widespread problem?

"We are drafting a proposal which will be reviewed by Minister (of the Interior) Carlos Vielmann and President Berger, to see if the there will be a permanent withdrawal from these communities", indicated Erwin Sperissen, Director of the National Police.

Pueblos sin presencia de la PNC por: Mike Castillo & Leonardo Cereser, Prensa Libre

And then there's this brief news item about the Minister of the Interior, Carlos Vielmann, who went to the Guatemalan Congress to promote a package of security policies. Notice what the Mr. Vielmann chooses to highlight as risks to the country's stability:

Representatives of the different political parties listened as the Minister presented the possible problems and sources that could lead to a situation of "ungovernability" in the country.

These would include, said the Minister, the lynchings and the senseless, massive protests that have intensified in the countryside.

Gobernación busca apoyo de partidos, por Óscar F. Herrara, El Periódico

Today's Editorial from Siglo XXI is entitled: Stop the Rising Crime Rate. It examines the growing threat of organized crime:

As if the population wasn't already worried about the climate of insecurity caused by common criminals, such as gang members, it must now also face an upsurge of organized crime, which in the last few weeks has become exceptionally notorious.

Events such as the recent bank robberies and the despicable and unjustifiable assassination of the artist (renowned pianist) Dorothy Áscoli, would indicate that the public has more than enough reasons to be alarmed.

The big question now is how the National Police and the Public Ministry will resolve this challenge, if their limited technical and financial resources have prevented them from achieving positive results in combating other types of crime.

Alto a Repunte de Criminalidad Editorial, Siglo XXI

The ever-unfolding tragedy of women assassinated in Guatemala continues to shock all who of us who watch as these numbers grow and grow. According to a recently-published article, in the first ten months of this year alone 547 women have been murdered. That numbing number is 16 more that the total number of females violently killed in 2005. And there's still November and December...

A group of women activists accompanied family members of the victims to the cemetery to commemorate All Saint's Day.

"We are in solidarity with the families of the thousands of murdered women, and denounce the State once again for failing to guarantee our safety and security", declared Andrea Barrios of the Women's Sector.

And once again, the officials point the blame at the victims:

"The numbers have increased because more women are participating in gangs or other illegal activities; many of the deaths are due to revenge", stated Erwin Sperisen, director of the National Police.

Muerte de mujeres supera cifra de 2004, por: Edgar López, Siglo 21

And finally, given all the above, today there was news of a very surprising move by the U.S. Embassy. The Embassy lifted the Travel Warning that it put in place after Hurricane Stan hit Guatemala. Which is a good and necessary step towards helping the country recover.

But that's not the bizarre part. The article goes on to mention, quite casually that:

The bulletin that the U.S. State Department published concerning the dangers of traveling to the country because of the security situation, also expired on November 3rd.

What?!?!?! That must be because everything is just swell here now, I guess.

Still, I noticed that although the official travel warning has "expired", the Consular Information Sheet doesn't seem to pull any punches:

Violent criminal activity has been a problem in all parts of Guatemala for years, including numerous murders, rapes, and armed assaults against foreigners. The police force is young, inexperienced, and under-funded, and the judicial system is weak, overworked, and inefficient. Criminals, armed with an impressive array of weapons, know that there is little chance they will be caught and punished.

Hmmm.... I wonder if I've just screwed the possibility of anyone ever coming to visit me in Guatemala again.

Tags: Guatemala, Crime, Women, Police, Violence

Posted by elcanche at November 10, 2005 11:32 PM