Guatemalan Press Exposes Powerful Gangs
Five secret armed groups, directed by active and retired military, and with far-reaching influence in state power are running organized crime in Guatemala Salvadoran daily Colatino revealed on Wednesday.

The newspaper reports that the illegal gangs knitted an intricate secret web between 1960 and 1996 that operated in the government of Alfonso Portillo and continue operating during Oscar Berger s administration.

The paper echoes a release from civilian investigators in the Washington Office for Latin American Affairs that claims many of the members were key elements in the counter-insurgency struggle during the 36-year armed conflict.

They later turned to drug and weapons trafficking and other illegal businesses, undermining the judicial system through their political connections, corruption and violence.

WOLA adds that La Cofradia, El Sindicato, El Estado Mayor Presidencial, Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil, Red Moreno and Grupo Salvavidas perpetuate insecurity and threaten democracy.