VZCZCXYZ0356
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #1025 3462130
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 122129Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0588
INFO WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001025 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI PGOV KCRM GT
SUBJECT: Vigilante Groups Taking Justice Into Their Own Hands 
 
¶1.      (U) Summary:  The last several weeks have seen an uptick in 
violence spearheaded by Local 
 
Citizen Security Groups (Juntas Locales de Seguridad Ciudadana). 
These groups, made up of armed civilians frustrated by the poor 
security situation and economic depression in their communities, 
are operating in rural departments such as Quiche, Chimaltenango, 
Huhuetenango, and Solola.  The groups advocate vigilante justice 
and have acted out violently against police and suspected 
delinquents.   End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.      (U) On November 16, a police officer was beaten to death in 
Chimaltenango for allegedly 
 
trying to extort money from a bus driver.  On November 27, in 
Solola, a large group of locals murdered three suspected 
extortionists who had allegedly killed a bus driver and passenger. 
The police in Solola initially resisted the group's attempts to 
recapture the three from police custody; however, the mob responded 
by setting three police cars and a motorcycle on fire.  The police 
eventually abandoned their posts fearing for their safety and the 
three captured, including a 16-year old boy, were taken to a nearby 
park where they were covered in gasoline and burned alive. 
 
 
 
¶3.      (U) On December 4, three people were burned alive in 
Huehuetenango department.  The 
 
three were accused of decapitating an elderly woman whose body had 
been found in a mountainous area of the town.  The police, who have 
not had a presence in the town since 2002 after locals killed one 
of the police officers, were not permitted to enter.   However, 
local citizens invited the press to come and take pictures of the 
captives, noting how they apply their own brand of justice. 
 
 
 
¶4.      (U) On December 5, in Panajachel, a tourist town on Lake 
Atitlan, a man was beaten to 
 
death for stealing 7000 Quetzales (USD 844) and the deed to the 
house of a local merchant.   His three alleged female accomplices, 
one of whom was six months pregnant, were arrested and detained in 
the local police station.  Locals later captured the women from 
police custody and set fire to four police vehicles and a gas 
station.  The local police station and municipal building were also 
damaged.  The police were eventually able to negotiate for the 
womens' release and dispersed the crowd using tear gas.   On 
December 7, in Huehuetenango, a man accused of kidnapping had been 
taken hostage by the local population. 
 
 
 
¶5.      (SBU) Comment:  There have been 111 cases of lynching so 
far in 2009, resulting in 45 dead 
 
and 216 injured.  As a comparison, there were only 8 reported 
lynching-related deaths in 2008.  The increasingly dire economic 
situation coupled with extortion gangs infiltrating small towns and 
creating a previously non-existent crime problem has lead 
communities to organize themselves and exact justice.  NGOs have 
expressed their concern for this issue but the government has not 
yet publicly condemned this behavior.  Lynchings are likely to 
continue as local communities feel increased economic pressure, 
growing desperation over the deteriorating security situation in 
Guatemala, and especially given that the government seems 
unconcerned with this type of lawlessness.  End Comment. 
MCFARLAND