Pubdate: Sun, 09 Mar 2003
Source: Daily Times Leader, The (MS)
Copyright: Daily Times Leader 2003
Contact:  http://www.dailytimesleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1655
Author: Nancy San Martin - Miami Herald

GUATEMALA EMERGES AS A KEY DRUG ROUTE

GUATEMALA CITY - In the three years since President Alfonso Portillo 
assumed office, Guatemala has emerged as one of the principal corridors in 
the hemisphere for U.S.-destined drugs - a new battleground in the war on 
drugs where the traffickers are winning.

Where once there was little organized criminal activity, intelligence 
sources say, Guatemala now has five key "mafias" that have joined forces 
with Colombian and Mexican cartels to move drugs - primarily cocaine - by 
land, air and sea.

"Guatemala is one of the largest cocaine transit countries in the world," 
Paul Simons, acting assistant secretary of state for international 
narcotics and law enforcement affairs, said this week. "Perhaps as much as 
200 tons of cocaine passes through Guatemala every year en route to the 
U.S. market."

That makes up as much as half the estimated amount of drugs that crosses 
through the Central American region and accounts for about 40 percent of 
all direct entries to the United States.

"This large scale could not go unhindered were it not for just collusion, 
but also involvement in drug trafficking," said a State Department official 
who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Already under scrutiny because of the Bush administration's recent 
assessment that Guatemala is not an adequate partner in the antidrug 
effort, the country was slammed again in the State Department's annual 
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. The report was released 
last Saturday.

The report, based on activity in 2002, paints a dark picture of Guatemala's 
record under Portillo's leadership. Among other things, it shows that drug 
seizures dropped by about half, compared to the previous year. It also 
notes that many of the seizures occurred after scathing testimony before 
Congress by U.S. officials in Washington.

Simons testified last fall that the drugs pass through Guatemala "with 
almost complete impunity."

Rogelio Guevara, chief of operations for the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, told Congress: "After nearly 36 years of violent guerrilla 
and civil war, Guatemala has only recently attempted to move from military 
to judicial rule. Criminals with political connections function within the 
various departments of the government, including the courts and national 
police."

The Guatemalan security forces have been rocked by a series of high-profile 
scandals. Among them:

In January 2002, drug agents took over the village of Chocon as part of a 
violent drug raid that ended with the deaths of two people. Sixteen agents 
were arrested and are now on trial on charges of illegal search and 
seizures and extrajudicial execution. While the case is based on human 
rights abuses, authorities allege the raid was really a shakedown in an 
attempt to steal drugs moving through the village. The agents face a 
maximum of 50 years in jail if convicted.

In July, officials discovered that about 1,600 kilos of cocaine were 
missing from a storage room at a narcotics unit headquarters in the 
capital. Eighteen drug agents were arrested in that case and are awaiting 
trial. They face up to 15 years in prison.

Meanwhile, a series of corruption scandals led to the disbanding of the 
nation's antidrug task force. About three-quarters of the narcotics unit 
was fired and a new force was created. Officials say the cases represent 
only one component of a troubled system.

Under the Portillo administration, there have been four ministers of 
government, seven directors of the National Civilian Police and 11 
directors of the anti-narcotics unit.

Alleged inaction by the government led to the Bush administration's recent 
decertification of Guatemala, marking the first time the nation has been 
branded as having "failed demonstrably" in the fight against illegal drugs.

U.S. officials say the antinarcotics relationship was working well until 
Portillo took office in January 2000. As evidence, they point to a stark 
drop in seizures: In 1998, Guatemalan authorities seized 9.2 metric tons of 
cocaine; in 1999, they seized 10.1 metric tons. In the three years since 
Portillo assumed power, authorities have seized an average of two metric 
tons each year.

Fernando Mendizabal, the recently appointed special prosecutor for 
narcotics, concedes that a problem exists.

"When we are talking about drug trafficking, we are talking about highly 
organized crime. It's run like a corporation," Mendizabal said. "It's 
difficult to make advances against drug trafficking because they have so 
much more resources than we do.

"They've managed to infiltrate all the security forces," he said. "There is 
a lot of cooperation and that has made it very difficult for us to do our 
jobs."

Mendizabal said Guatemala is in need of more resources and effective laws 
to go after the kingpins: "We've been successful at getting the people who 
move the drugs, but not the bosses."

Since decertification a month ago, high-level representatives from both 
governments have met at least three times. Officials described the 
gatherings as positive though the anticipated results remain precarious.

The primary line of defense against drug trafficking falls on the new 
narcotics unit, known by the acronym SAIA. Agents on the 400-plus force are 
trained at the U.S.-funded Regional Counter-Narcotics Training Center in 
Babarena. The center provides training in all aspects of law enforcement 
related to narco-trafficking, including courses on investigations, small 
unit tactics, information analysis and human rights.

Felino Argueta Barrios, director of the center, said the scandals and the 
decertification were a psychological blow to the program. He now tells 
graduating recruits they have two responsibilities: "Seizing drugs and 
recovering the prestige of the force."

Even as the U.S. government appropriates millions of dollars each year to 
fund counter-narcotics efforts in Guatemala, officials are skeptical about 
success.

"Although various high-level officials have pledged to engage the 
counter-drug effort, they have been unable to affect or control the 
deep-seated and well-entrenched culture of corruption that exists," the 
DEA's Guevara told Congress.

Strategically located between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, 
Guatemala is not only a transshipment point for narcotics but a key storage 
area as well.

The five key mafias identified in Guatemala are spread across the country 
and drug trafficking is most prevalent in Zacapa, Izabal, Peten, Costa Sur 
and Sayaxche, intelligence officials said.

Irked by U.S. criticism of Guatemala's antidrug efforts, the president 
recently challenged the United States to take over security at the ports.

"Let them take over security; let's see if drugs don't keep entering with 
them," Portillo told local media.

Guatemalan officials say that while they lament the decertification status, 
the label has raised awareness and forced the government to act. 
Authorities hope to implement a four-year plan in 2004 that calls for 
tougher drug-trafficking laws, a witness protection program, funds to pay 
informants and other tools to combat the increasing drug trade.

"We know there are many problems, but there is a will to defeat this," 
Mendizabal said. "I think that if we continue to work as we are, then we 
will have good results. But we need economic and political support."
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