Asked about the future of the army, 62.3 percent said it should be reduced, while 36 percent said they would support an initiative to abolish the armed forces altogether. Seventy-five percent of those asked said they had been recruited into the army by force and that military service has nothing positive to offer young people. These respondents also said that recruits lose respect for life and abandon their homes. According to 76 percent, the army has done nothing positive for their communities, its main legacy being the great number of massacres committed. Sixty-eight per cent said the army enjoys immunity from punishment, and 83 per cent believed that if the army ceased to exist the level of violence in the country would diminish.
Facts support the poll results.
In just the last week members of the military or police were involved in several incidents. Two police were caught in Guatemala City April 24 for a kidnapping in which they demanded 5,000 quetzales ransom for their victim. The Mayan Defense Committee reported April 25 that residents of several villages in San Miguel Uspantan, Quiche province are being harassed by five former military commissioners. Attorney General Ramses Cuestas confirmed April 26 that, following the discovery of stolen cars in an auto salesroom, members of the military are being investigated for their alleged involvement in an auto theft ring. Police in Chichicastenango, Quiche province, said April 27 that men brandishing weapons registered to PAC members had demanded 40,000 quetzales from a local merchant in exchange for his life.