THE TRUTH ABOUT CRIME IN GUATAMALA

[Keegan]

If you take the time to read the latest long and well written chapter from Indigo Moon's website on Guatamalan Crime I would say that they sum up the on going depate rather perfectly.


Indigo Moon

[rtbates]

Reading that article made me want to scream. STILL lawless I'd say. 29 years ago I spent a summer in Bellize and wanted to travel to Guatamala to sight see. I was advised to only go in groups. A week later tour buses were being held up at gun point. There's nothing in Guatamala that I need to see that bad..Too many other beautiful places with a real justice system.

[steleehin]

I agree , we had planned to spend quite a bit of time in guatamala but we will skip it now .

Maybe if cruisers quit coming they will make some changes.

[oldsalt_1942]

I spent three months on the Rio back in '92. I never heard of any incidents such as you related in your complete story which I found really depressing. I anchored in out of the way places and never felt the slightest bit apprehensive, but that was then. I wouldn't go back now, though. Back then there were a lot fewer cruisers. Playa Dennie's was just an idea back then. My friend Bill, the captain of a 65' catamaran and I spent a couple of evenings sitting on the beach with Dennis talking about his dream while drinking rot-gut rum and coconut water.

The Rio back then WAS paradise but Bill said one evening just before we were getting ready to leave..."I think we hit the last of the good time here on the Rio. It's never going to be the same." From what I've heard and read he was right.

[Greenman]

Noonsite: Guatemala

I pretty much refer to noonsite.com for any summary of news from various areas. They do say to take caution.

I have been following Indigo Moons blog. Good stuff IMO.

[keelbolts]

... and you know full well that if you killed the robbers somebody would fuss. "You'd take a life over a wallet?" You bet your ____ I would. It is the proper & moral response. Either you fight evil or you're an accomplice to it.

[imagine2frolic]

This is just another example of why countries hate America.............i2f

[GordMay]

The current lead item in the much maligned Chisme-Vindicator website is a safety advisory titled “Boaters advised to avoid lower Golfete area”

Goto:
riodulcechisme.com - Home

Perhaps Buddy’s well researched and written exposé has had some desirable impact.

[lampe]

Dear Keegan,

i really appreciate reports like your's which give's a lot of thinking to me.

Dreaming from a sailing tour around the world makes me so clear in
what paradise we are living and sailing here at present.

take care
Lampe

[David M]

With all the safe and beautiful places to cruise to, whats the point in sailing to dangerous and beautiful places?

[DPMatty]

Cruisers stopped being men (and women) of adventure who came to a local to be a part of it, and became a group spoiled yuppie asshats who like to congregate amongst themselves in distant anchorages. Maybe a decent crime rate is needed to keep they sabbatical sailors at bay..

Having said that, I spent a fair bit of time in Latin America twenty years ago, including Guatemala. Back then I traveled with the Kaibil, we were never worried about what might happen - nothing was going to happen! These days? I don't think I'd go there unless I had some very good local connections - and even then I'd prefer to be armed. Hell, unless a lot has changed, I would bet that cruisers are about the only folks who aren't armed there....

[fastfilm]

I hesitate to join this conversation. My time in Guatemala was in 1989, after the worst of the troubles, but still a troubled time. It is a beautiful place filled with remarkable people, both Ladinos and Indigenos. The survival of the indigenous culture is unique in the Americas, and the racism, though racism isn't accurate because the difference in genetics is slight, the cultural hatred is strong. The gulf between rich and poor is huge and not new. The external troubles brought by drug trafficers fall into the mold of the old problems, their version of Mano Blanco, the right wing terror squads continued and seem to continue. Even in my time their the revolutionaries had begun to abandon stealing to support the revolution for stealing to support themselves. My criticism of Indigo Moon's comments can only be that his view is short sighted, the problems are complex and the current situation is only the latest style. Guatemala is beautiful and complex and old and evolving and worth the risk. Just be careful.

[imagine2frolic]

short sighted?

I thought it very in depth all the way back to the beginning with the bananas. Maybe I am misunderstanding short sighted?......i2f

[Tspringer]

Guatemala is just another victim of our absurd drug war.

In the supposed effort to prevent the negative impact of tens of thousands of addicts we commit to a course of action that guarantees hundreds of thousands of dead, costs hundreds of $ Billions and produces collateral victims in the hundreds of millions.... and for icing on the cake we STILL get the addicts to boot.

Its all about money. The Drug War is all about money. The Drug Lords get filthy rich, the enforcement industry gets rich, the Govt. agencies get both rich and powerful and the fact that all the little people get screwed just does not matter.

The worst part.... there is not a damn thing that can be done about it.



Terry

[tager]

The drug war is not a war against drugs, it is a war for drugs.