The recent clash between drug cartels in Chiapas, Mexico, forces the army and police authorities to maintain security cordons to prevent criminal groups fighting for the drug route provoke acts of violence in national territory.
At the moment, the Guatemalan Army maintains the deployment of 2 thousand soldiers in vulnerable areas of the border. Likewise, a police contingent of At least a thousand agents remain in the area.
The director of the National Civil Police (PNC), David Custodio Boteo, says that the police deployment is maintained in the border strip, mainly in departments such as Huehuetenango, Quiché and Petén, which have a larger territorial extension and where armed groups can enter to gain territory.
Anti-narcotics agents report that recent events in the municipality of La Concordia, Chiapas, Mexico, where the deaths of four Guatemalans belonging to an armed group have been confirmed so far, reveal that drug cartels, mainly those of Jalisco Nueva Generación (JNG) and Sinaloa, are fighting over the drug route that comes from South America and passes through Guatemala.
In Guatemala, according to specialists’ research, people with military knowledge are also recruited, especially Kaibilies and ex-Kaibiles.
Guatemala, according to anti-narcotics authorities, is used as a bridge for drugs to reach the United States. An example of this is that on June 28 in the port of Santo Tomás de Castilla 2.1 tons of cocaine were seized in a container.
Anti-narcotics agents said the shipment came from Colombia and was destined for Mexico, although it is unknown whether the shipment was for the Sinaloa cartel or JNG, the two largest criminal groups that currently control drug trafficking in the neighboring country.
Drug dealing grows
Although cocaine seizures are strong, Boteo says that the demand for this drug has declined in the United States and is beginning to be replaced by fentanyl, This means that part of this cocaine remains in the country for retail sale, under the control of gangs.
“The low demand for cocaine in the United States means that the drug stays in Mexico and Central America, and all the drugs that are left behind are sold through drug dealing,” said Boteo.
“There is too much cocaine left on the market and drug trafficking groups are looking for ways to sell it, because in the United States fentanyl is available cheaper and everywhere, and therefore consumption of that drug has decreased considerably,” he points out.
He adds that in Guatemala, the sale of drugs at retail has caused disputes between gangs. Barrio 18, which operates in zone 6, and Mara Salvatrucha (MS13), which operates in zones 13, 9 and 7 of the capital.
the arrival
The wave of violence in Chiapas, between the Mexico-Guatemala border, intensified since September 2023, when a caravan of armed individuals from the Sinaloa cartel arrived at the border line and was received with applause and shouts of support from the residents themselves.
From that moment on, criminal acts in that region have been more evident, to the point that they were recorded in Ayutla, Tecún Umán, Ocós, La Blanca and Malacatán, all municipalities of San Marcoswhere for years joint investigations between the Government of Guatemala and the United States have detected the presence of clans that traffic drugs by sea and land.
Anti-narcotics investigators acknowledge that in previous years drug trafficking groups have crossed Guatemalan borders, mainly to supervise poppy planting, merchandise smuggling and illegal migration, with the approval of municipal authorities.
New routes
Although this year the authorities are reporting a large number of cocaine seizures, they also recognize that it is a difficult problem to eradicate because criminal structures are looking for new routes and strategies to transport any type of drug.
According to figures from the Ministry of Defense (Mindef), this year, as a result of the reinforcement of the number of military elements in Petén and other regions to prevent the landing of drug planes, Drug traffickers have opted for maritime routes and are trying to use ports to deliver the goods.
The PNC reports that food and everyday products are the target for hiding drugs that are being smuggled through Guatemala.
This year, according to information from the Ministry of Education, most of the seizures have been made off the coast of Guatemala and in containers at the Port of Quetzal, Escuintla.
The institution reported that after security was reinforced in Petén, they identified that the Shipments originating in South America are transported by air to land in Belize or Mexico.
In addition, cocaine from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru is dissolved in clothing, and upon reaching its destination it is made solid using chemicals. They also make holes in avocados and pineapples to hide it.
Anti-narcotics agents claim to have found powders or chemicals that are harmful to the canine units that support them in the tracking operations, since the intention of the drug traffickers is to prevent the drugs from being located, but also to cause the death of the dogs, although so far they have not succeeded.
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