Word: guatemalans
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Experts say Guatemala is no longer a mere drug corridor, but rather an essential and highly lucrative pit stop on the road north. One Guatemalan columnist likened the country's new role to a "privateering port." Julio Godoy, former vice-minister of security in Guatemala's interior department, called Guatemala "one big warehouse" for drugs. More and more Mexicans with suspected drug links are turning up in Guatemala. "They're clearly here essentially to establish themselves and to take on rivals," says ambassador McFarland...
...recreation area shootout last March seemed to pit Guatemalan trafficker, Juan Jose "Juancho" Leon Ardon, linked to the Gulf cartel, against members of the Sinaloa cartel, believed to be led by Mexican drug boss, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera. Local newspapers reported that Leon Ardon and his group had stolen a drug shipment from the Sinaloa cartel, which then allegedly sought vengeance by killing Leon Ardon and 10 of his men. The 12th victim was Arturo Damian Casanova, a Mexican national and suspected member of the Sinaloa cartel. In April, the Guatemalan police detained Mexican national Daniel "El Cachetes" Perez...
...busy Mexico-Guatemala border crossing at La Mesilla. Authorities found nearby what appeared to be an improvised hospital for the wounded, including an impromptu helicopter pad with evidence of use. Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident, four of them Mexican and at least one a Guatemalan, with an outstanding arrest warrant for drug-related crimes...
...infiltrated governments have been unable or unwilling to reverse the tide. "People perceive a breakdown of authority and really the authorities are the traffickers," says ambassador McFarland. In areas of high drug activity, the population has little choice but to align itself with the traffickers, says Godoy, the former Guatemalan Interior Ministry official. Plus, in a country where some 80% of citizens live below the poverty line, traffickers pay well for cooperation. "If [a trafficker] asks a person to shine a light at a [clandestine] airstrip and they're going to pay more than that person has earned all year...
...justice system. Rember Larios, adjunct director of the national civil police, says the force was committed to facing the drug threat. "Our hand will not tremble," says Larios, noting that police were carrying out searches for traffickers and evidence in provinces with heavy narco presence. McFarland says the Guatemalan government's expanded budget for security next year was a positive sign. "My feeling is that the leaders of the government are aware that 2009 really is a sort of make or break year...