Crime, violence, and the crisis in Guatemala
Subtitle: a case study in the erosion of the state
By: Hal Brands
Contributors: Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute
Publisher: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Carlisle, PA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 63
ISBN-13: 9781584874423
Description: Guatemala is currently experiencing a full-blown crisis of the democratic state. An unholy trinity of criminal elements: international drug traffickers, domestically based organized crime syndicates, and youth gangs, is effectively waging a form of irregular warfare against government institutions, with devastating consequences. The police, the judiciary, and entire local and departmental governments are rife with criminal infiltrators; murder statistics have surpassed civil-war levels in recent years; criminal operatives brazenly assassinate government officials and troublesome members of the political class; and broad swaths of territory are now effectively under the control of criminal groups. Guatemala's weak institutions have been unable to contain this violence, leading to growing civic disillusion and causing a marked erosion in the authority and legitimacy of the government.--
Notes: "May 2010."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-63).

Also available online in PDF format from Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) web site. Adobe Acrobat Reader required.
Table of contents: title: The regional context : organized crime and irregular warfare in Latin America; title: The crisis in Guatemala : origins, characteristics, and effects; title: International drug traffickers; title: Hidden powers; title: Pandillas and Maras; title: Violence, corruption, and the erosion of the state; title: Policy implications.