During the program Direct Impactof Guatevisionbroadcast this Wednesday April 22, 2026the general director of the National Civil Police, David Custodio Boteoand analysts addressed the possible relationship between armed attacks, bodies located in various sectors and the expansion of the drug dealing in urban areas, especially due to the recruitment of children and adolescents to sell drugs in school environments.
The National Civil Police investigates whether the recent findings of victims in different parts of the country are related to a internal dispute between criminal structuresin a context marked by the fight for control of the drug dealing in the capital and other urban areas.
Boating stated that conflict between gangs “It has generally been occurring in recent days and months due to the issue of drug dealing.” and added that this illegal market has become “very attractive derived from the great demand that the drug has at this time in our country by children and adolescents”.
According to Custodio Boteo, the retail sale of drugs has become a point of clash between criminal groups. The police chief explained that before this business seemed concentrated, but now different structures confront each other and attack those who control distribution points.
Victims cited under deception
The police director pointed out that the bodies found in bags in recent days, as well as other multiple findings, could be linked with a “internal cleaning” of those groups. “These criminal organizations are cleaning up their own groups“said Custodio Boteo, explaining that, according to preliminary information, several victims had been deceitfully summoned to supposed meetings to plan illicit acts and were then attacked.
According to what is stated in the program, one of the authorities’ hypotheses is that members of these structures are summoned at different points under the argument of defining new drug sales strategies and, already in those places, they are murdered. This line of investigation was also related to recent armed eventssuch as those registered in the zone 6 of the capital.
In the analysis disseminated during the space, it was also highlighted that the recent violence reflects a dispute over territory and for the control of illicit activities, mainly drug distribution in urban sectors.
Recruitment of minors in schools and colleges
Another of the central points addressed by Custodio Boteo was the recruitment of children and adolescents for the sale of drugs.
“They are children who are entering educational centers to sell drugs“, stated the police director, who indicated that this modality is also detected in schools and colleges.
The official added that the Crime Prevention Unit of the PNC, in coordination with the Ministry of Educationmaintains control actions in sectors considered critical. Among them he mentioned preventive searches and permanent police presence in 38 educational centers classified as high risk.
Custodio Boteo also pointed out that there are reports of teachers threatened so that they do not report conduct linked to drug distribution or gang dynamics in educational centers and their surroundings. Among the focused areas, he mentioned sectors of zone 12, New Villa, zone 21, Amatitlan, Villa Canales, zone 24 and zone 18among others.
Analysts warn of repeated pattern and vulnerability of adolescents
The analysts agreed that the use of minors within these structures it’s not newbut they warned that a repeated pattern is observed. One of them stated that adolescents are “coveted and valued” by criminal groups for two reasons: because they tend to go unnoticed by the authorities and because many are in highly vulnerable contexts.
As explained in the program, minors are used to move drugs because their appearance, school uniform or daily movements reduce suspicions. Furthermore, it was indicated that many come from broken families or from environments where they seek identity, belonging or money, factors that are taken advantage of by criminal structures to recruit them.
Another analyst questioned the effectiveness of current regulations to punish those who recruit minors into these networks and warned that, although legislation exists, judicially proving who recruited a teenager continues to be one of the main challenges for the authorities.
Thus, the exhibition in Direct Impact outlined a scenario in which recent violence, the findings of victims and the recruitment of students converge on the same concern: the expansion of the drug dealingthe dispute over its control and the recruitment of minors in urban areas.
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