The illegal drug trade in Guatemala includes trans-shipment of
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
to the United States. According to some reports, Mexican drug cartels such as
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
have also established
poppy
A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...
growing operations there. There is a reported relationship between the Mexican
Los Zetas
Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscri ...
cartel and the Guatemalan
Kaibiles
The Kaibiles are a special operations wing of the Armed Forces of Guatemala. They specialize in jungle warfare tactics and counter-insurgency operations. Since 1974, more than 1,250 soldiers have graduated from the international training pro ...
military force.
Effectual characteristics
Outside support
Guatemala has become one of the larger drug smuggling countries in Latin America precisely because drug cartels in neighboring states have offered their support. Cartels in Colombia have sent upwards of 48 tons worth of cocaine to Guatemala and the cartels have shared techniques for moving cocaine unnoticed, such as mixing cocaine with fruit pulp. Additionally, Mexican cartels have actively cooperated with Guatemalan drug dealers because Mexico has become the primary destination for smuggled drugs. This relationship has encompassed most major drugs, including the selling of raw opium gum and, eventually, the processed poppy, which carries a higher price per kilo for Guatemalan growers.
[Bunck, J., & Fowler, M. (2012). Bribes, Bullets, and Intimidation: Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America.University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press.] Belizean support has allowed inhabitants in Guatemala to start growing marijuana as well, which has become popular for both consumption and smuggling to Mexico.
Domestic policing
Within Guatemala, the domestic police has experienced difficulty combating the growing and selling of drugs and combating the inefficiency and corruption in the police force. In the 1980s, there was a low police officer to citizen ratio and the state poorly trained police officers and offered low wages, which contributed to low morale.
Consequently, bribes became a common method for circumventing anti-drug police efforts and countering successful arrests. Additionally, police forces in many areas were involved with the drug cartels, offering assistance, making money, and acquiring additional local power and influence. The low quality of policing and different forms of corruption lead to low public support and faith in the ability of the police and has led to the public's unwillingness to cooperate and decision to start lynch mobs.
Geography
Geography in Guatemala has created both an ideal climate for growing drugs and divided regions for smuggling drugs. The vast amounts of mountains and forests that divide the country make governing and policing more difficult.
In the mountains located in the provinces of San Marcos and Huehuetenango, inhabitants are able to grow different types of drugs, primarily opium.
[Celerino Castillo and Dave Harmon, ''Powderburns: Cocaine, Contras & the Drug War'' (Oakville: Mosaic Press, 1994), 115.] Additionally, these provinces are along the northern border of Guatemala which connects the opium fields to Mexico, the primary destination of the majority of drugs that are grown or smuggled through Guatemala. Due to the close proximity with Mexico, Guatemalan and Mexican police have experienced difficulty combating the fields as the two governments must respect the other's sovereign borders and do not have complete authority in the area.
The northern forests in Guatemala have allowed marijuana growers and smugglers to maneuver away from authorities as well. Through the support of growers in Belize, people in Guatemala were able to acquire seeds and connections to start growing and exporting their product to Mexico, while avoiding the more restrictive laws and effort by the government in Belize.
Dynamics
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
connects
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
along common drug routes between Central America and the United States. Its long, unpatrolled coastline and sparse jungles make it a popular landing point for boats and planes carrying drugs from South America, while its borders are understaffed and ill-equipped to fully exert customs controls.
[
"According to a December 2008 report from the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center, less than 1 percent of the estimated 600 to 700 tons of cocaine that departed South America for the United States in 2007 transited Central America. The rest, for the most part, passed through the Caribbean Sea or Pacific Ocean en route to Mexico. Since then, land-based shipment of cocaine through Central America appears to have ballooned. Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Stephen McFarland estimated in an interview with a Guatemalan newspaper that cocaine now passes through that country at a rate of approximately 300 to 400 tons per year."][Stratfor, 26 March 2009]
Central America: An Emerging Role in the Drug Trade
/ref>
According to the International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...
, “the presence of Mexican cartels fighting on Guatemalan territory demonstrated how important and competitive the eastern region had become for the transnational cocaine trade”.[International Crisis Group.]
Corridor of Violence: The Guatemala-Honduras Border
CrisisGroup.org
4 June 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
A 2009 STRATFOR
Strategic Forecasting Inc., commonly known as Stratfor, is an American geopolitics publisher and consultancy founded in 1996. Stratfor's business model is to provide individual and enterprise subscriptions to Stratfor Worldview, its online public ...
report corroborates: "Mexican drug traffickers appear to operate much more extensively than in any other Central American country; this may be due, at least in part, to the relationship between Los Zetas and the Guatemalan Kaibiles. Beyond the apparently more-established Zeta smuggling operations there, several recent drug seizures — including an enormous 1,800-acre poppy plantation attributed to the Sinaloa cartel — make it clear that other Mexican drug-trafficking organizations are currently active inside Guatemala."[
]
See also
*Crime in Guatemala
Rates of crime in Guatemala are very high. An average of 101 murders per week were reported in 2018. The countries with the highest crime and violence rates in Central America are El Salvador and Honduras."Guatemala: Country-Specific Information". ...
*Illegal drug trade in Latin America
The illegal drug trade in Latin America concerns primarily the production and sale of cocaine and cannabis, including the export of these banned substances to the United States and Europe. The coca cultivation is concentrated in the Andes of Sou ...
References
{{Americas topic, Illegal drug trade in
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
Crime in Guatemala by type
Drugs in Guatemala
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...