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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.
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