Well, this all happened in the summer of 05 but I said I would write about it even though it isn't fresh in my memory. basically, the crime in Guatemala's second largest city (Quetzaltenango) had become so bad that the citizens formed these vigilante groups to combat gangs and assorted gang-related crimes. The police in Guatemala and much of Latin America are so corrupt or inept or both that they do very little to fight crime. Actually the stories I heard were of gringos getting robbed by police in the name of justice "give us all your money and we wont have to bring you in for this false charge we are about to bring on you" or something equally as exciting.
A brief history lesson: El Salvador had a nasty civil war. They sent many orphaned kids to the US for a better life. Orphaned kids got a real LA street gang education and started getting into trouble. The US said "f this" and sent them back to El Salvador. In El Salvador, these kids who saw how gangs operated in LA brought that education back home, adding to it a ruthlessness that was not seen in LA. MS 13 and these other hardcore gang-bangers start chopping people up with machetes while leaving their body part to mark their territory. general terror reigns down on El Salvador. This problem moves to Guatmala and to other countries. Repeat.
Basically, the vigilantes are locals tired of this crap so the guys (and some girls) get together at night with weapons and whistles and patrol the streets. Throughout many a central american city I fell asleep to the semi-comforting sound of whistles blasting through the thick night air. the problem with vigilante justice is its not regulated. Add in the fact that many of these vigilantes seemed to be doing it because it was an ego trip (or as some told me, to get away from their wives) and you have a recipe for trouble. Finally you must take into account a mob mentality. The tuesday before we arrived in Xela the vigilantes had killed a teenager who they accused of being a gang member because he had tattoos. So, on one of the earlier nights there, my brother and I went and found a group of vigilantes after some scare in teh streets and took pictures with them. They were incredibly friendly and enjoyed posing for the cameras with us, some have masks, others big sticks or knives. I will post again soon,
James
2 comments:
you know what's crazy? My BFFs coworker's ex-girlfriend's current boyfriend is part of MS 13.
They are all over the US - I think in as many as 38 states. You should start looking out for gang signs in your students. It needs to end.
haha. Ybe, you rock. mainly because you just used a chain of connection that made my head spin. ms-13 is all over the states and is no joke, they hacked up so many people when i was on my trip and the newspapers there use blood and guts on the front page to sell papers, doesnt seem to deter much though.
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