Investigation and Analysis of Organized Crime

InSight Crime

Guatemala

Guatemala Profile

Guatemala's criminal organizations are among the most sophisticated and dangerous in Central America. Some of them have been in operation for decades. They include former members of the military, intelligence agencies and active members of the police. Transporting illegal drugs north comprises the bulk of their activity, but organized crime in Guatemala is also involved in marijuana and poppy cultivation, as well as human trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, money laundering, arms smuggling, adoption rings, eco trafficking and other illegal enterprises. They often work with groups from Mexico, Colombia and other Central American nations and they have the potential to expand and command other Central American nations' underworlds. Read more

News

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Coronavirus Affects Extortion Payments in Mexico and Central America

The measures in the fight against the coronavirus in Central America have...

Groups

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Barrio 18

The 18th Street Gang, also known as "Barrio 18," is one of the largest youth...

Personalities

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Horst Walther Overdick, alias “El Tigre”

Horst Walther Overdick, alias "El Tigre," was one of the biggest drug...

Groups

Barrio 18

The 18th Street Gang, also known as "Barrio 18," is one of the largest youth gangs in the Western Hemisphere. Like its better-known rival, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13), the Barrio 18 has cells operating from Central America to Canada, including the United States. With thousands of members across hundreds of kilometers, and interests in a number of different illicit activities, Barrio 18 is one of the more significant emerging criminal threats in the region. Still, it is questionable how far its different units are coordinated across borders, or even within the same city.

MS13

The Mara Salvatrucha, or MS13, is perhaps the most notorious street gang in the Western Hemisphere. While it has its origins in the poor, refugee-laden neighborhoods of 1980s Los Angeles, the gang's reach now extends from Central American nations like El Salvador and through Mexico, the United States, and Canada. They rob, extort and bully their way into neighborhoods and have gradually turned to transnational crimes such as human smuggling and drug trafficking. Their activities have helped make the Northern Triangle -- Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras -- the most violent place in the world that is not at war. In October 2012, the US Department of the Treasury labeled the group a "transnational criminal organization," the first such designation for a US street gang.

Mendozas

Leones

Lorenzanas

CIACS

Personalities

Horst Walther Overdick, alias “El Tigre”

Juan Alberto Ortiz Lopez, alias “Juan Chamale”

News

Analysis / April 13, 2020

Coronavirus Affects Extortion Payments in Mexico and Central America

The measures in the fight against the coronavirus in Central America have caused two starkly different reactions from criminal groups, some are continuing to extort...

Investigations / April 13, 2020

Female Criminal Leadership and Differing Use of Violence

Women’s participation in organized crime groups is not uniform. The diverse roles that women play in criminal economies allow us to characterize different types...

Analysis / March 5, 2020

Capital Murder: 2019 Homicide Rates in Latin America’s Capital Cities

In a year marked by political and criminal turmoil, Latin American capitals did not escape the effects of the violence, organized crime and state repression...

Brief / February 25, 2020

Black Market for Mayan Artifacts Still Thrives in Guatemala

Guatemalan authorities carried out raids at a shop selling illegally sourced artifacts, renewing focus on the country’s struggles to stamp out the remains of a...

Analysis / February 5, 2020

Punchy Guatemala Mayors Seek to Restore Reputation in the Ring

The Rocky theme music played as the mayor entered the boxing ring, perhaps in the hope that he would gain "the eye of the tiger." He...

Analysis / January 28, 2020

InSight Crime’s 2019 Homicide Round-Up

Unrest gripped much of Latin America and the Caribbean throughout 2019. From record violence in Mexico that recalled the darkest days of the drug war,...

Analysis / January 17, 2020

GameChangers 2019: Northern Triangle Countries to Fight Corruption Alone, if at All

The year 2019 saw the end of a brief golden era when local and international forces came together to fight state and private corruption in the Northern...

Analysis / January 15, 2020

GameChangers 2019: Backwards to the Future

Welcome to InSight Crime's Criminal GameChangers 2019, where we highlight the most important trends in organized crime in the Americas over the course of the year....

Analysis / January 14, 2020

Guatemala’s New President Dogged by His Past and Security Challenges

Alejandro Giammattei assumes Guatemala's presidency facing various security challenges, including drug trafficking, impunity, institutional weakness and poor law...

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