So far this year, 91 people deported with a current arrest warrant have entered the country, which It represents 0.8% of the migrants returned between January 1 and April 5according to data from the Guatemalan Institute of Migration (IGM).
During this period, 9,757 adults and 695 minors in irregular situation from the United States and Mexico have returned to Guatemala.
According to the Registry of the National Civil Police (PNC), the most recurring crimes among the returned with court order are violation (60%), homicide (45%) and murder (30%). Cases of breach in the payment of alimony have also been documented.
The IGM indicates that, before the arrival of flights with deportees, there is already knowledge of how many people face judicial processes in Guatemala. This is possible thanks to direct coordination with the authorities of Mexico and the United States.
People with arrest warrant are the last to descend from the airplanes, and are immediately sent to the PNC for their identification and background verification, as part of the established protocol, the IGM communication department reported.
It is clarified that the 91 people reported are those that appear in the records, without ruling out the existence of cases without prior alert.
Protocol
Inspector César Mateo, in charge of the Department of Social Communication of the National Civil Police (PNC), explained that part of the police procedure consists of arresting the person with judicial report and making it available to the judge who issued the arrest warrant, who will determine the corresponding sanction. Meanwhile, the Public Ministry (MP) has the responsibility of presenting the necessary evidence to strengthen the investigation.
Regarding the protocol, Mateo explained: “The first thing is to attend the returnees in everything necessary. Then, it is coordinated with the PNC, which corroborates the data of the person and, through a document, the delivery to the court that issued the arrest warrant. It is noted that we are complying with the arrest warrant – the date and crime is recorded -, the judge receives it and transfer it to the penitentiary system. The process begins to ventilate while in jail, and the hearings begin.
The inspector added that, when the arrest of a foreign person occurs, lThe countries make a verification with the authorities of the detainee originto confirm if there is an order of apprehension in force. In Guatemala, this work is in charge of Interpol-Guatemala.
Mateo pointed out that this procedure is a common practice in countries, whose objective is to identify who enters their territory, since they could be people considered high danger. In this sense, when the United States or Mexico captures a Guatemalan migrant, requests Guatemala’s judicial records to verify if he has a current capture order. This information is recorded in the manifesto that moves to the country before the arrival of flights with returnees.
“It is already known that the person has an alert and, when he comes here, because he gives himself to the police,” Mateo said.
The reasons for migrating
The Guatemalan Institute of Migration (IGM) records that 89% of the returnees with a current capture order that are referred to the National Civil Police (PNC) come from the United States. Of that group, 97% are men. Meanwhile, the remaining 11% were deported from Mexico, without reporting female presence in this case.
The report indicates that the months of January and March concentrate the largest number of documented cases.
While many people migrate to the United States and Mexico with the intention of improving their living conditions, a small group does so to evade the law, after committing a crime in Guatemala. This could be the case of some of the 91 people who appear in the IGM registry and that, when returned, They must appear before a court to clarify your legal situation.
Francisco Pellizzari, director of the Guatemala migrant house, points out that the main reasons why a person decides to migrate are economic shortage, lack of opportunities and violence in their place of origin.