The Complexity of Organized Crime in Guatemala

Guatemala has been grappling with the issue of organized crime for decades. The following article provides an overview of the situation, highlighting its extent, nature, and impact on the country’s politics, economy, and society.

Organized Crime

• Minor Gangs: These groups are known for their extreme violence, using small weapons to carry out selective killings or intimidate extortion victims.
• Drug Cartels: Primarily from Mexico, these cartels dominate the market and use more brutal force and high-powered weapons. Collaboration between local gangs and international criminal groups is widespread.
• Nature of Organized Crime: The country’s organized crime landscape is characterized by a complex web of relationships between local gangs, international criminal groups, and corrupt government officials.

Corruption

• State-Embedded Actors: Corruption is a major obstacle in combating organized crime, with state-embedded actors facilitating or engaging directly in criminal operations.
• Lack of Support: Anti-corruption initiatives have been unsuccessful due to lack of political support, funding, and continuity. This has hindered efforts to combat corruption and organized crime.
• Corrupt Law Enforcement Entities: Low- to medium-level law-enforcement entities are often associated with gangs, while the drug cartels have connections across all levels of the state apparatus.

Criminal Justice

• Inadequate Judicial System: Guatemala’s judicial system is not equipped to deal with complex cases, with courts overloaded, understaffed, and limited by bureaucratic procedures and delays.
• Prison Conditions: Prisons suffer from extreme violence, poor living conditions, and severe overcrowding due to corruption and understaffing, making them operation centers for prominent gangs.

Economic Environment

• Laws and Institutional Capacity: Guatemala’s laws, norms, and institutional capacity to combat money laundering are extensive, making the country resilient to this activity.
• Extortion: Extortion is widespread, affecting small to medium businesses, large multinationals, and individuals.

Civil Society

• Role of Civil Society: Civil society and the media play a crucial role in fighting organized crime, promoting solutions despite working in hostile environments.
• Crime Prevention Initiatives: Crime prevention is a relatively new concept in Guatemala, with some interventions focusing on community services, vulnerable groups, and behavioral change.