Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0151/01511.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 16KB | 260 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01511}
$Pretitle{278}
$Title{Guatemala
Chapter 5C.   Public Order and Internal Security}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Eugene K. Keefe}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{police
national
guatemala
city
activities
crime
early
army
forces
law}
$Date{1983}
$Log{}
Country:     Guatemala
Book:        Guatemala, A Country Study
Author:      Eugene K. Keefe
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1983

Chapter 5C.   Public Order and Internal Security

     The endemic violence in Guatemala for the three decades from the early
1950s to the early 1980s often made a shambles of public order and threatened
the internal security of the country. This is not to imply that for every day
of the 30-year period the country was engulfed in civil war or that all of its
citizens lived on the edge of strife during that time. But warfare, terrorism,
crime, and discord did occur on a scale that exacted a horrible toll in lives
and property. In a setting of great wealth for a few and extreme poverty for
the many, the endless insurgency, counterinsurgency, and vigilantism resulted
in an appalling number of deaths even if the lowest estimates are accepted.
The opposing forces suffered casualties in combat, but those casualties paled
to insignificance when compared with the number of innocent noncombatants who
were killed indiscriminately during the 30-year period, primarily by
government forces or by government-condoned paramilitary groups and death
squads.

Law Enforcement

     After the March 1982 coup the junta set aside the country's constitution,
disbanded the legislature, and forbade activities by political parties (see
Constitutional Basis, ch. 4). About a month later the Fundamental Statute of
Government was promulgated, providing the new junta with a basis in law, but
that was set aside in June when Rios Montt disbanded the junta and assumed the
presidency. His proclamation of a state of siege on July 1, 1982, in effect
gave him dictatorial powers. One of the most controversial acts accompanying
the state of siege was the establishment of special courts that conducted
secret trials of political offenders as well as ordinary criminals and that
were empowered to issue death sentences.

     On the first anniversary of the coup the state of siege was lifted, but
the activities of the special courts were not curtailed. Five more men were
executed on March 21, bringing the total to 15 for the less than nine months
that the courts had been operating. The five prisoners, executed by firing
squad in Guatemala City's main cemetery, had been convicted of murder,
attempted murder, kidnapping, rape, aggravated theft, and "violent immoral
abuse." They were said to have been members of a gang (two soldiers among
them) that preyed on well-to-do families, gaining entrance to houses using
army uniforms and legitimate credentials and then subjecting the victims to
beatings and sexual abuse before stealing their valuables and sometimes
murdering them. This official account depicted actual criminal activities as
opposed to the vague accusations against those executed earlier.

     The responsibility for guaranteeing public order and enforcing the law as
directed by the basic statutes of the country belongs to the National Police
(Policia Nacional), but the degree of control exercised by police authorities
varies according to custom and conditions. Custom is part of the equation
because, in effect, there are two Guatemalas, one Indian and one ladino, and
in matters of law enforcement and public order it has been customary for the
Indians to police themselves in their own communities in regard to ordinary
crimes and misdemeanors. The conditions that effect basic law enforcement are
those dictated by the incessant civil war. Frequent states of siege declared
by several presidents have also had a bearing on law enforcement because of
the imposition of martial law and the suspension of civil rights during those
periods. Whether or not a state of siege happened to be in effect, however,
the army traditionally has been heavily involved in police matters.

     In early 1983 the law enforcement agencies included the National Police,
Treasury Police (Guardia de Hacienda), and the Mobile Military Police (Policia
Militar Ambulante-PMA). A specially trained (counterinsurgency) unit of the
army called the Kaibiles (a Mayan term, loosely translated as strategists) and
army intelligence personnel, called G2, have for many years performed police
functions. During the Rios Montt state of siege, all armed forces were given
the power of arrest, including the authority to hold arrestees without
bringing charges or permitting writs of habeas corpus. In addition, many
private enterprises employed their own security forces. Wealthy individuals
hired bodyguards or security guards to protect themselves, their families, and
their property. Frequently, the responsibilities and functioning of the
National Police, Treasury Police, PMA, and the many pseudopolice forces
appeared to overlap.

     During colonial times and the first years of independence, the army was
responsible for police functions, but that system was finally recognized as
unsuitable, and constables (comisarios de policia) were appointed by city
officials to safeguard the peace. The constables of Guatemala City became the
Urban Police or Watch Corps in the late 1860s. In 1872 the Civil Guard was
established as the first regular police force, and somewhat later President
Barrios hired a former New York City policeman, Joseph H. Pratt, to be
assistant director of the force and to professionalize it. At first stationed
only in the capital, the Civil Guard eventually acquired nationwide
responsibilities and by the 1950s had become known as the National Police. The
bulk of its strength, even in the early 1980s, continued to be deployed in
Guatemala City, where more than one-fifth of the population was concentrated.

     The entire police effort changed noticeably during the 1960s as a result
of the escalating insurgency and counterinsurgency. When the surviving
guerrillas moved into Guatemala City after defeat in the eastern departments,
the National Police was not prepared for the surge in guerrilla activities in
the capital. There had been urban guerrilla activities for several years, but
always on a scale that could be handled. When the guerrillas from the hills
joined those in the city, however, the police were temporarily overwhelmed.
The situation changed from 1967 to 1970 as police strength was increased,
training improved, and weapons and equipment became available. The changes
were attributable primarily to United States assistance. The Agency for
International Development (AID) moved in with substantial funds for the
National Police, established a police training academy, and sent policemen to
Washington to attend courses at the International Police Academy. In three
years the AID efforts transformed the National Police into an effective
counterinsurgency force.

     The General Directorate of National Police in Guatemala City operated
under the direction of the Ministry of Government, which handled the functions
usually associated with a ministry or department of interior, and some writers
use that designation. News reports in early 1983 stated that a transfer of
police supervision to the Ministry of National Defense was imminent, but an
official announcement of that transfer had not been made as of mid-1983. The
National Police, a nationwide force of armed policemen, is usually described
by outside observers as a paramilitary organization. Its membership in early
1983, estimated at 9,500, consisted primarily of uniformed policemen but also
included an investigative agency of plainclothes detectives. The general
director of the National Police in early 1983 was Colonel Hernan Ponce Nitch,
a Rios Montt appointee.

     Basic policemen entered the force, after training, as agents; the
progression in position was from agent to subinspector, inspector, chief
in