Guatemalan law enforcement, mainly performed by the civilian-led National Civil Police of Guatemala(PNC), yet assisted by its

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, which has a poor record with regard to

human rights violation Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

s. During President general

Otto Pérez Molina Otto Fernando Pérez Molina (born 1 December 1950) is a Guatemalan politician and retired general, who was President of Guatemala from 2012 to 2015. Standing as the Patriotic Party (''Partido Patriota'') candidate, he lost the 2007 president ...

, elected in 2012, stepped up the use of military reinforcement in the country's

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

, which was introduced on 2005 as a 'temporary measure' yet lasted several electoral periods. During the country's civil war from 1960 to 1996, 200,000 people were killed and 45,000 forcibly disappeared. According to the

Historical Clarification Commission In 1994 Guatemala's Commission for Historical Clarification - La Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico (CEH) - was created as a response to the thousands of atrocities and human rights violations committed during the decades long civil war th ...

, Guatemala's

truth and reconciliation commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

, the Guatemalan state (military and government

paramilitaries A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

) was responsible for over 90 percent of human rights abuses recorded there. More recently, in October 2012, six people were killed and another 34 injured when

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s open fired into a crowd of indigenous

protester A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

s. The military has also been tied to drug trafficking and

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. After the internal conflict, as part of the peace agreements, the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC) was established as national civilian police with a nation-wide jurisdiction and a departament based division.

Military deployment

Since 2012, the government has opened at least five new

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

s, with over 21,000 troops deployed throughout nine states. These "Citizen Security Squadrons" range from

Huehuetenango Huehuetenango () is a city and municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The city is situated from Guatemala City, and is the last departmental capital on the Pan-American High ...

to Quiche and

Alta Verapaz Alta Verapaz () is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and ...

, from

Escuintla Escuintla () is an industrial city in Guatemala, its land extension is 4384 km², and it is nationally known for its sugar agribusiness. Its capital is a minicipality with the same name. Citizens celebrate from December 6 to 9 with a small fair ...

to Suchitepequez and

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

, and from

Zacapa Zacapa () is the departmental capital municipality of Zacapa Department, one of the 22 Departments of Guatemala. It is located approximately from Guatemala City. Sports Football club Deportivo Zacapa competes in Guatemala's top division and p ...

to Izabal and

Chiquimula Chiquimula is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Chiquimula and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located some 174 km from Guatemala City and within Guatemala known as "La p ...

, and are also stationed in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

. A new military unit, known as Joint Task Force

Tecún Umán Tecun UmanAlternate transliterations include Tecún Umán, Tecúm Umán, Tecúm Umam, Tekun Umam, etc. (1500? – February 20, 1524) was one of the last rulers of the K'iche' Maya people, in the Highlands of what is now Guatemala. According to ...

(Fuerza de Tarea Tecún Umán), began operating in zones along the border shared with Mexico.

Historical secret police organizations

* Policía Judicial (

Judicial Police The judicial police, judiciary police, or justice police are (depending on both country and legal system) either a branch, separate police agency or type of duty performed by law enforcement structures in a country. The term judiciary police is mo ...

) * Policía Militar Ambulate (PMA) (Mobile Military Police) * Guardia de Hacienda (

Palace Guard ''Palace Guard'' is an American crime drama television series that was briefly broadcast by CBS from October 18 to November 1, 1991, as part of its 1991 fall lineup. It was produced by Stephen J. Cannell. Synopsis ''Palace Guard'' is the story ...

) * Ejército Secreto Anti-Comunista (ESAC) ( Secret Anti-Communist Army) * Centro de Servicios Especiales de la Presidencia (Centre for Special Presidential Services)

Sources

* ''World Police Encyclopedia'' Wo, ed. by Dilip K. Das & Michael Palmiotto. by Taylor & Francis. 2004. * ''WoWorld Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Correctional Systems''Wo, 2nd edition. Gale, 2006. * Sullivan, Larry E. et al. ''WoEncyclopedia of Law Enforcement''Wo. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2005.

References

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