Sunday 11 January 2009, San José, Costa
Rica
Panama Focuses on
Elections
Nicaragua Awards
Cuban Ambassador
Most Guatemalans Fear
Violence
At Least 30 Killed in
Peru Bus Mishap
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Most Guatemalans Fear
Violence
Guatemala - Ninety
percent of Guatemalans
fear being kidnapped,
mugged, robbed or
extorted, according to a
nationwide survey
published here.
The poll, carried out by
the company Vox Latina
among 1,200 Guatemalans
from December 15-19,
2008, showed that people
distrust security and
law enforcement
agencies, particularly
the National Civil
Police.
According to the survey,
77.9 percent of
respondents are afraid
of going out, and 93
percent said it is easy
to be killed by
Guatemalan criminals.
One of their main
concerns is the growing
presence of
drug-trafficking gangs
in several regions of
the country.
Sixty-eight percent of
respondents noted that
that organized crime
might take over control
of the State, and 60.7
percent said they have
changed their lifestyle
and stopped visiting
certain places.
The Human Rights
Prosecutor's Office
reported that one of the
most violent years in
Guatemala's recent
history was 2008, when
an average of 18 murders
a day were committed.
This week, President
Alvaro Colom substituted
Salvador Gandara for
Francisco Jimenez as
government minister in
an effort to curb
violence in a short
term.
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