Drug war

Recent reports suggest that the Mexican government's campaign against violent Mexican drug lords has driven some of them across the border to Guatemala, where a weak government and a violent legacy leave plenty of openings. Violent street gangs emerged soon after the end of the civil war in Guatemala. Now, some drug forces have moved in from Guatemala (though four above were apprehended in Guatemala City). They pay off judges, prosecutors, police chiefs, and military officers; fly in drugs from South America on their way through Mexico to North America; and engage in the kind of violent clashes that are all to familiar to a country that barely survived a 30-year civil war. Already, Guatemala has more guns today than at any time during the civil war. The power of the drug forces and the violence are big challenges for the government of President Colon, who promised social reform and security, only to find in 2008 one of the most violent years in Guatemalan history (including a shootout at a race track and an attack on a whole bus).

-- Perry