HomeNewsBriefGuatemala Approves Asset Seizure Law
BRIEF

Guatemala Approves Asset Seizure Law

GUATEMALA / 8 DEC 2010 BY INSIGHT CRIME EN

Guatemalan Congress approved a law Tuesday that allows the state to seize the assets and property linked to criminal activity.

The constitutionality of the law was debated in Congress for four months, reports El Periodico, but the motion eventually passed with 112 votes in favor. The law is similar to legislation in Mexico and Colombia, and will allow the government to use a portion of the seized assets to support law enforcement agencies. It will go into effect in June 2011, after Guatemala's next general elections in May.

The law creates a government body, supervised by the Vice President, that will manage the seized assets. Under the terms of the law, 25 percent of the seized assets will go to the judiciary, 20 percent to investigative units in the police and military, 20 percent to the Ministry of Public Affairs, 18 percent to the Ministry of the Interior and 2 percent to the Attorney General's Office. The legislation also dictates what the funds should be used for. This includes training and equipment for the police, witness protection programs and coverage of administrative costs. 

The challenge now lies in enforcing the legislation. Many congress members reported receiving anonymous death threats via text message before the vote. Other bills intended to fight crime, like the Weapons and Ammunition Control Act, approved in April 2009, have not yet been successfully implemented.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Tags

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

CONTRABAND / 18 MAY 2022

Ranchers from Mexico's eastern state of Veracruz know a way to buy cheap cattle: Drive to a remote part of…

EL SALVADOR / 10 JAN 2023

Extortion in Latin America continues to bring in fortunes for criminal gangs. So how do they do it?…

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 19 JUL 2022

Amid El Salvador's brutal anti-gang crackdown, one top MS13 leader was escorted out of the country by a government official.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.