In an interview with EFE, the Minister of National Defense of Guatemala, Henry Saenz Ramos, analyzed the process of internal change of the Army, the key collaboration of the United States as an ally and the short-term aspirations to strengthen ties with European powers.
“The US helps us verify with scientific proof if the officers, specialists or troops have no relationship with organized crime (…) This allows us to know that the units that are committed to combating these threats are completely unrelated to any criminal,” stated the Guatemalan minister.
The strategic relationship with the United States, the minister assured, is decisive in maintaining the integrity of the forces, especially because Guatemala is an “obligatory passage” for drug trafficking cartels that transport drugs to that North American country, one of the main consumers of illegal substances globally.
Guatemala is a strategic bridge for international cartels to transport drugs from South America to the United States, mainly. It is common for authorities to make million-dollar seizures and historical records of cocaine seizures, in addition to constant arrests and extraditions.
More than a hundred members of the army have been prosecuted or linked to criminal structures in recent decades, an evil that also affects Guatemala’s justice system, based on judicial and police records.
Although the leader of the Security portfolio recognized the latent threat of the Mexican cartels on the common border, baptized as a rest and reorganization area for transnational crime, he admitted that Guatemala is not yet a scene of territorial dispute for these criminal groups.
“We have not yet had, territorially speaking, a cartel that is so powerful that it fights the Army or the police face to face, precisely because they do not take Guatemala as a territory for their operations, but as a rest territory. The threat is latent. However, we are very far from what is experienced in Mexico,” the official added.
“Lately, thanks to the improvement of the relationship with the United States, the Army is increasingly more professional in complying with human rights, respecting the population, ensuring democracy,” Saenz Ramos added in the interview with EFE.
“All these values that we now practice made them re-certify us,” added the minister, referring to the end of a military embargo lifted last March by the United States on the Guatemalan Army, which did not allow it to buy weapons and which now endorses its respect for human rights.
This new stage allows Guatemala to strengthen ties with powers of the European Union such as France, Spain and Germany, opening the door to agreements for training under protocols of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), he noted.
The minister highlighted that Guatemala is going from being a mere observer to actively participating in international exercises, including soon the ‘Martinique’ naval exercise with the French Navy, which reinforces its reaction capabilities against transnational threats.
The strategic relationship with the United States is decisive in maintaining the integrity of the forces, especially because Guatemala is identified as a “obligatory passage” by drug trafficking cartels that seek to bring drugs to the United States.
Territorial and border control
In the operational sphere, the head of Defense highlighted the recovery of control in critical areas such as the department (province) of Petén (north) after the departure of the oil company Perenco, where a military unit was installed to combat drug trafficking and protect the Mayan Biosphere Reserve, the largest protected area in Guatemala and Central America, with more than 21,600 square kilometers.
According to the minister, the military presence makes it possible to contain the use of airspace by criminal structures that operate in the region.
“To date, we have not had illegal planes in the national territory for more than a year, specifically in Petén, and so far in the government, in these more than two years, we have reduced it to a single landing, which was in the area adjacent to Belize. We can say that this unit that was based in the facilities of what was the Perenco company is relatively successful in a positive way,” said Sáenz Ramos.
However, the official recognizes that the threat of Mexican cartels on the border with the provinces of Huehuetenango and San Marcos (northwest) remains latent as a rest and reorganization area for transnational crime.
The official clarified, however, that, unlike the situation of conflict between cartels in Mexico, Guatemalan territory is not currently a scene of territorial dispute or clash operations between criminal groups.
While in an interview at Florida International University, Saenz said that the equipment donated by the United States has been important in combating organized crime.
He added that the pending task is to combat drug trafficking by land in the form of drug dealing.
The Guatemalan Army reported that the interviews were within the framework of the XI Annual Conference on Hemispheric Security, held in Miami, Florida.
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