HomeNewsBriefVigilantes Accused of Extortion in Guatemala City Suburb
BRIEF

Vigilantes Accused of Extortion in Guatemala City Suburb

EXTORTION / 23 FEB 2012 BY HANNAH STONE EN

Guatemalan authorities are investigating reports that "citizen security committees" have committed abuses against civilians in a suburb of Guatemala City.

The Public Ministry is examining claims that these groups are making threats and charging extortion payments from the population of Mixco, according to Prensa Libre.

The newspaper reported that a few weeks ago the citizen security committees detained a group of police officers and Public Ministry officials, who were in the area to carry out investigative work.

InSight Crime Analysis

Both the US and Guatemalan governments have poured resources into Mixco, and the municipality saw one of the biggest drops in homicide rates in the country in 2011, falling from 62 to 48 per 100,000 inhabitants. It is the site of a US Model Precinct program, under which officers from the embassy's Narcotics Affairs Section provide equipment and advice to the local police force, recruiting and training their officers. Recruits must complete a rigorous training program and are regularly evaluated, according to the embassy.

Last week, President Otto Perez announced the creation of a new police station in Mixco, where there are already some 349 soldiers supporting the police work.

The presence of citizen security committees, which are vigilante groups made up of local people, suggest that the authorities are not doing enough to convince locals that they are tackling crime in Mixco. Reports that these groups are committing abuses against local people are an example of how this kind of vigilanteism can blur into criminal activity. These kind of groups are present in regions across Guatemala, and have been using the Internet to out suspected criminals and threaten retribution. At least 10 people named by one of these vigilante websites, in a municipality in Peten, were later killed.

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.

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

COCAINE / 7 MAR 2023

The US State Department's annual narcotics report sees coca cultivation spreading, while Colombia remains the top cocaine supplier to the…

ELITES AND CRIME / 1 DEC 2021

Ground to a halt in Guatemala City’s unrelenting morning traffic, a small team of government investigators began to worry they…

ARGENTINA / 23 NOV 2021

A criminal borrowed the surname of the imprisoned Monos gang boss to receive extortion payments from businesses in the Argentine…

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.