Although between 2015 and 2024 Guatemala has directly received US $ 197 million (Q1 thousand 510.99 million) from the United States to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking And organized crime, the problem persists in the country, especially in border areas with Mexico, such as San Marcos and Huehuetenango.
Guatemalan authorities have recognized that in those regions the drug cartels look for strategic routes to enter Guatemala and verify the operations they maintain with organized crime groups in the country. This, according to security analysts, has evidenced that, although international cooperation has been significant, the challenges to contain these illegal activities still remain.
The tension at the Mexico-Guatemala border, due to conflicts between drug trafficking cartels, has been more evidenced in recent years, and in them armed groups in Guatemala have been involved. The most recent event occurred days ago, in The table, Huehuetenango, where the Mexican police crossed the border of Guatemala To take a group of armed subjects.
In May, delegates of the South Command of the United States made a visit as part of the strategic alliance with Guatemala to combat organized crime.
The US military offered training for instructure pilots, for administrative maintenance of aviation and the formation of technical maintenance elements. Specialists have also supported technical courses for welding and repair, the fusion of intelligence, integration and management of boats for maritime patrols, according to the information that the Ministry of Defense provided weeks ago.
Cooperation
October 23, 2024, The southern command of the United States Army He delivered a donation that exceeds US $ 12.2 million in military team to the Ministry of Defense of Guatemala.
The donation consisted of broadcasting equipment, vests, satellite locators and helmets. It also delivered spare parts for submarines and helicopters, which are used in the combat of organized crime in the region.
On October 2 of that same year, the United States donated US $ 50 million for the fight against organized crime. These resources joined other US $ 50 million that he delivered in March of that year.
On that occasion, the United States argued that there are good results in Guatemala in the fight against drug trafficking and the disarticulation of criminal structures. The statement was given in the midst of the “High level inaugural dialogue on security”, in which officials from both governments participated.
In September 2020, the United States announced a donation of US $ 31 million to Guatemala during the next 12 months, to support the country’s work in the fight against drug trafficking.
That was the third donation delivered by that country as part of the “Narcotic Control Programs, application of the Law, Public and Citizen Security and Reform to the Justice Sector”, which both countries agreed in 2015.
The first economic contribution was delivered to Guatemala in 2015 for US $ 28.3 million, and later, in 2017, a second donation for US $ 26.3 million was made.
In October 2024, the Pacific Naval Command received from the US. UU. The ship called Hunapú, To be used in the fight against organized crime, the fight against drug trafficking and the shelter of maritime borders.
In addition to the donation of the Hunapú ship, Guatemala received 12 outboard engines to strengthen the response capabilities of the sea vessels, with the aim of ensuring that they have the necessary resources against emergencies in the Pacific Ocean.
The general director of the National Civil Police (PNC), David Custodio Boty, said that US cooperations are important and have been effective in better developing operations, with positive results.
“Cooperation is important, mainly in the field of tactical equipment and vehicles. Support in technology and logistics resources is important,” he said.
He added that this year this help focuses on training for PNC staff.
For his part, Ricardo Barrientos, executive director of the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI), argues that, in budgetary and records, it is reflected that resources have been properly used. However, he considers that no greater impact on drug trafficking structures is visible, and rather these have taken over local authorities in the province.
“The results have not been good because the narco is embedded in the country, we already talked about narcoalcaldes, of narcodiputados,” he said.
Barrientos stressed that US President Donald Trump has cut funds from other programs that worked in Guatemala, and does not rule out that he also does it on security issues, for not having the expected results.
Mérida Plan
Among the international efforts to combat drug trafficking in the region, said the Mérida initiative, a security cooperation program created by the United States in 2008, during the government of President Álvaro Colom.
This plan, initially signed with Mexico, extended to Central America due to the impact that drug trafficking routes had on the northern triangle, made up of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The initiative sought to strengthen the security capabilities of these countries through team donations, training and institutional support.
Between 2008 and 2017, Central America received approximately US $ 830 million as part of this regional security strategy. Of that amount, an estimate based on reports of the Congress of the United States and partial reports of the State Department indicates that, in that period, Guatemala obtained between US $ 150 and US $ 200 million, aimed at strengthening the National Civil Police (PNC), the Public Ministry, the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) and other entities involved in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.