A viral video once again showed the vulnerability of the pilots of the heavy transport that circulate on route CA-2, between Escuintla and Suchitepéquez. The images show how a man with his face covered demands money from a driver to allow him to continue his journey, a practice that the authorities are investigating as part of a structure dedicated to extorting transporters.
The investigations indicate that the criminals They would not act randomly, but would have a surveillance network that identifies the vehicles, the type of cargo they transport and their commercial value. With this information, they intercept the pilots and demand payments that may vary depending on the merchandise they are transporting.
During the program Direct Impactfrom Guatevisión, analysts addressed the case and questioned that, despite the fact that the National Civil Police claims to have identified several of the suspects, the extortions continue to affect transporters and companies that use that strategic route for national and international trade.
PNC assures that it has already identified alleged extortionists
The general director of the National Civil Police (PNC)David Custodio Boteo explained that investigations indicate that some people located at bus stops and intersections could be providing information to criminals about the passage of cargo vehicles.
“Many of the vendors, without criminalizing them all, who are located at all the bus stops, at the intersections in the area, are people who are dedicated to monitoring both buses and heavy transport trucks,” he stated.
The official indicated that the institution maintains operations in the sector and coordinates actions with the criminal investigation and the Public Ministry to carry out arrests.
In addition, he assured that the authorities already had profiles of some suspects due to previous complaints related to assaults on the route.
“Based on the complaints of assault on the route, we already had several people profiled and precisely one of them, two of them match the faces of the people who appear in the video,” he said.
They question why action was not taken sooner
One of the main indications during the analysis was that the authorities acknowledge having identified some of the suspects for some time.
Luis Fernando Urbina, publicist and communicator, questioned the lack of concrete results. “Not only that they have them identified, but that they cancel them,” he stated.
“All these situations of violence we have to understand that not only does it affect the people who suffer it first-hand, but it also affects the Guatemalan consumer who is paying for more expensive products.”
And he added the most forceful phrase of the analysis:
“The citizen is the one who ends up paying the price.”
For her part, Nydia González, marketer and life coach, highlighted that extortion has become a practice that affects different economic sectors. “It is we citizens who pay the extortions,” he indicated.
González also questioned that, despite the authorities claiming to know the existence of a network, there are still no reports of forceful actions against its members.
“The question here is if they have already identified them, if they already know that there is a network. Why haven’t they done something? Why haven’t they acted?” he expressed.
“They do not work alone or at random”
During the program, the possibility that behind these events there is a broader organization dedicated to collecting information on cargo vehicles was also discussed. The psychologist and communicator Claudia Massis maintained that criminal structures usually operate through coordinated networks.
“Extortionists, structured groups, gangs, they do not work alone or at random.”
According to Massis, those responsible could have collaborators who monitor the movements of the carriers from different points along the route. “They have organization, structure, strategy,” he stated.
Massis warned that the consequences of these activities should not be analyzed solely from the perspective of security. “Let’s not see this fact in isolation, because it does seriously affect the economy of a country.”
He added that the impact can translate into price increases, loss of jobs and even closure of businesses affected by the constant payment of extortions.
As investigations progress, The PNC and the Public Ministry seek to determine the scope of the structure and establish if there is a relationship between these extortions and other violent events recently recorded on the route to the Pacific, including the death of a Honduran pilot that occurred in Suchitepéquez.
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