Emma Lightizer<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the last half of the twentieth century, Guatemala was defined by its 36-year-long civil war<\/a> and the genocide it committed against indigenous Maya in the 1980s (Martin). Today, violence against women and indigenous people, drug trafficking, gang activity, and weak or corrupt state and local authorities present persistent risks to people\u2019s personal security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Drug-trafficking organizations and Central American gangs are not the same thing, but both do exist in Guatemala. Gangs like the Mara Salvatrucha<\/a> and Barrio 18 <\/a>cause many of the same violent problems in Guatemala as they do in other Central American countries: territory disputes, rape, murder, extortion, and robbery. However, drug-trafficking organizations have a special interest in Guatemala because the country\u2019s position just south of Mexico\u2019s border makes it a crucial pathway for the transit of drugs into the United States (Mart\u00ednez 46). Traditionally, drug-trafficking work was outsourced to local gang cliques or independent drug traffickers in the country. In recent years, though, Mexican drug-trafficking organizations have built a stronger and more constant physical presence in Guatemala, claiming several towns and cities as their territories (Mart\u00ednez 163). The introduction of the Zetas<\/a>, an especially violent Mexican drug-trafficking organization, has greatly reduced citizens\u2019 security in the city of Alta Verapaz as well as the other areas where they operate (Mart\u00ednez 50).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drug-related\nviolence also extends to state and local authorities. For example, in 2013,\nevery police officer present in an entire station was killed in retaliation for\nthe arrest of a drug trafficker\u2019s son (Mart\u00ednez 145). The \u201cMassacre of\nSalcaj\u00e1,\u201d as the event was called, initiated the launch of an investigation,\nopenly called \u201cOperation Dignity,\u201d but it was ineffective in ending the control\nthat narcotraffickers had over the region (Mart\u00ednez 153). Police and other\nauthorities in Guatemala are often too weak to do much to control drug\ntraffickers, and impunity runs wild as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of getting tangled up with\nstrong organizations, Guatemalan authorities often target weaker, individual\ndrug-traffickers or poor \u201ccampesino\u201d<\/em>\nfarmers they accuse of growing drugs and invading protected forest land\n(Mart\u00ednez 64). This gives authorities the advantage of looking like they\u2019re\ndealing with the problem while simultaneously not risking a firefight with\nlarge-scale organizations (Mart\u00ednez 66). In some localities, this is also the\nresult of corrupt politicians who explicitly work with larger drug-trafficking\norganizations to secure a monopoly on the trade in their area (Mart\u00ednez 70).\nThis has meant that many poor and indigenous farmers have been accused of\nworking with drug traffickers and have been kicked off their land and deprived\nof their livelihoods (Mart\u00ednez 73).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to these types of\nviolence that affect all Guatemalans, there are particular dangers for women\nand indigenous people. Guatemala is the country with the third highest rate of\nfemicide globally, and women are also very likely to be victims of rape and\ndomestic violence (Johnson). The impunity that exists for other crimes in\nGuatemala extends to violence against women, but is perhaps even more intense\ndue to a widespread indifference to the human rights of women. This means that\nwomen generally do not receive protection from the state, while they are\nsimultaneously at a higher risk of becoming victims of violence (Johnson). In\nsome cases, local authorities are even complicit or feign ignorance to allow\nsex trafficking rings to maintain operation. For example, the Barberena ring in\nsouthern Guatemala operated for several years while local police officers\nenjoyed the status of \u201cVIP clients\u201d and took part in the rape and sexual\nassault of the women held there (Mart\u00ednez 219). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Indigenous people, and especially\nMaya, are common targets of kidnapping, assault, and murder (Martin). They are\nalso frequently among those campesinos<\/em>\nwho are kicked off their land and accused of being narcos. Recent up-ticks in\nviolence against indigenous people, and especially against indigenous\nactivists, have brought about concerns of a return to the cycle of violence\nthat initiated the genocide of Maya people in the 1980s (Martin). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bibliography:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johnson, Sarah. “Can Health\nWorkers Stop Thousands of Women Being Killed in Guatemala?” The Guardian.\nMarch 07, 2018. Accessed May 10, 2019.\nhttps:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/healthcare-network\/2018\/mar\/07\/health-workers-stop-thousand-women-killed-guatemala-femicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin, Maria. “Killings Of\nGuatemala’s Indigenous Activists Raise Specter Of Human Rights Crisis.”\nNPR. January 22, 2019. Accessed May 10, 2019.\nhttps:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/01\/22\/685505116\/killings-of-guatemalas-indigenous-activists-raise-specter-of-human-rights-crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mart\u00ednez, \u00d3scar Enrique. A History of Violence: Living and Dying in\nCentral America<\/em>. London: Verso, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further\nReading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/guatemalas-bloody-battle-with-mexican-drug-cartels-6257571.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-guatemala-humantrafficking\/guatemala-closes-its-eyes-to-rampant-child-sex-trafficking-u-n-idUSKCN0YU29V<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n