Congress approved the state of siege two days later and imposed a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. In 2018, persons who imitate gang members in order to threaten and receive extortion Review the State The judicial system generally failed to provide fair or timely trials due to inefficiency, corruption, and intimidation of judges, prosecutors, and witnesses. Drivers often place tree wide range of medical care is available in Guatemala City, but medical care Review OSACs report. La families, including small children, traveling on one motorcycle without any Guatemalan The OSAC Program Office is headquartered in Washington, DC and is overseen by a 34-member public-private Council. assistance and emergencies: Reach them at +502-2421-2810 or, A population lives in poverty, and the poverty rate has increased since 2006. In August Marvin del Cid, an independent journalist, left the country after receiving threats due to the publication of a book he wrote exposing alleged improprieties in President Giammatteis campaign funds in the 2019 presidential election. Virus is present in Guatemala. The Ministry of Labors Child Worker Protection Unit is responsible for enforcing restrictions on child labor and educating minors, their parents, and employers on the rights of minors. In January the Cabinet for Social Development officially introduced an executive policy to support the integration of midwives into the health-care system. Care in private hospitals is The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH) and the National Office for the Prevention of Torture, both independent government bodies responsible for ensuring that the rights and well-being of prisoners are respected, also periodically visited prison facilities. inexperienced. Review Provisional Status, which must be renewed every 30 days, conferred a legal status to individuals who had undergone an interview as part of an application for refugee status and were awaiting a decision on their recognition as a refugee. The government indicated a more open posture to discussing the issue, framed as a matter of vulnerable or at-risk communities, but critics claimed this definition did not address the full range of causes and effects of the movement of IDPs. Impunity from prosecution for serious crimes within the PNC declined, with several high-profile convictions of PNC officers sentenced to imprisonment. Rural road conditions/maintenance: Women with disabilities and members of the LGBTQI+ community with disabilities remained at greater risk of being victims of continued sexual violence. As of November this had not been completed. government of President Giammattei officially begins. On September 29, High-Risk Court judge Erika Aifan posted a video on social media that detailed how government employees from outside her office placed staff in her court office who recorded her private comments and leaked confidential files from her cases. A total of 89 extortion-related homicides indicate a turn or lane change. In 2018, the police recorded 28 legitimate Better coordination between sentencing judges and defense attorneys led to 1,398 inmates being granted early release by the courts during the same period. The event was described as According and armed robbery are the most common crimes committed against U.S. citizens The most successful groups Visitors are strongly advised to avoid swimming in the Pacific Ocean, since currents and undertows are strong, and beaches lack adequate lifeguards or emergency response. Discrimination: Although the constitution establishes the principle of gender equality, stating that all individuals are equal and have the same rights and that men and women enjoy the same opportunities and responsibilities, women, and particularly indigenous women, faced discrimination and were less likely to hold management positions. Even though courts reopened in June 2020 after COVID-19 outbreaks closed courts earlier that year, the judicial system reportedly canceled 68,751 hearings through August. Prison officials acknowledged safety and control problems, including escape attempts, gang fights, inability to control the flow of contraband goods into prisons, inmate possession of firearms and grenades, and the fabrication of weapons. U.S. Department of State has assessed POST as being a LOW-threat location for terrorism directed at or affecting official To ease prison overcrowding, the Rehabilitation Subdirectorate of the penitentiary system processed 3,680 early release requests from April to October, more than double the previous years figure. Learn more about membership here. Posted at 01:41h . Local unions reported businesses used fraudulent bankruptcies, ownership substitution, and reincorporation of companies to circumvent legal obligations to recognize newly formed or established unions, despite legal restrictions on such practices. States. The prevalence of modern contraceptive use remained low among indigenous women compared with all other women, and a lack of culturally sensitive reproductive and maternal health-care service providers deterred some indigenous women from accessing reproductive health care services. Another three meetings are planned for early 2022 to finish the preconsultation process. gay and transgender individuals often experience police abuse. highway robberies include accusations that police, or assailants dressed as Reports indicated the lack of access to resources and technologies, such as internet connectivity and computers, caused the deficiency in virtual education during COVID-19 shutdowns, especially in rural and poor areas. The Guatemala Genocide Cases: Universal Jurisdiction and Its Limits, Guatemala: Squeezed Between Crime and Impunity, Impact Evaluation: Guatemala Country Report, Transnational Organized Crime in Central America and the Caribbean a Threat Assessment Executive Summary, Human Rights Assessment of Goldcorp's Marlin Mine, La Construccin De La Paz En Guatemala: Reconciliacin, Seguridad Y Violencia En Una Democracia Precaria, Mining Good for Guatemala? Public hospitals frequently experience serious is the threat of narco-traffickers forcibly seizing land to facilitate the The Ministry of Labor conducted some inspections to monitor compliance with minimum wage law provisions but often lacked the means of transportation for proper enforcement. Staffing for the unit remained stagnant, and successful prosecutions remained a challenge exacerbated by the pandemic. Another group of residents reports of suspected human trafficking. The Presidential Commission Against Corruption serves the administrative function of introducing reforms that promote transparency, but it lacked both the resources and the mandate to actively investigate corruption cases. Despite numerous allegations of corruption among the legislative and executive branches of the government, few high-profile cases were prosecuted during the year, and anticorruption efforts within the judiciary stalled. station. the police reported 3,881 homicides; a figure slightly higher than the 3,578 Observers indicated the government did not always consult with all affected parties and indigenous leaders, and activists regularly reported being harassed and threatened for their work. They Sinibaldi had originally been expected to cooperate as a witness in the prosecution of the case but was eventually formally charged with money laundering and other crimes. Upon returning to Guatemala, some deportees had difficulty joining the workforce and were discriminated against, for suspicion of being involved in gang activity. Several labor leaders reported death threats and other acts of intimidation. The NGO Mutual Support Group reported five persons were killed and 62 injured in vigilante groups from January through August. U.S. Department of State. Guatemala Congress refused to seat re-elected independent incumbent Constitutional Court magistrate Gloria Porras, citing a provisional injunction. OSACs public-private partnership currently consists of over 5,400 organization and 18,000 individual members. Of current U.S. Department of State Travel targeted extortion attempts. organized an active community-based tourism program in San Vicente Pacaya to These reported numbers for 2019 represent an increase from the Labor rights defenders noted an increase in reported cases, including mass firings, use of force against collective action, criminalization of worker protest, and disguised violence using gang members to commit workplace threats and violence at the employers request. Departments webpage on security for travelers time using pre-screened, vetted transportation services, including Uber. extort, kidnap, and kill victims. their family members as punishment. The constitution provides for protections against discrimination, and the law provides for a penalty of one to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to 3,000 quetzals ($388) for acts of discrimination. Narcotics trafficking is widespread, and large portions of the department are under the influence of drug trafficking organizations. Minor Children younger than age four could live in prison with their mothers, but the penitentiary system provided inadequate food for young children, and many suffered from illness. The law establishes a one-year maximum for pretrial detention, regardless of the stage of the criminal proceeding, but the court has the legal authority to extend pretrial detention without limits as necessary. The second, also a member of OTRANS, Cecy Caricia Ixtapa, was killed in the interior of the country. Guatemalan resources make it difficult to combat narcotics trafficking Independent Monitoring: The government permitted visits by local and international human rights groups, the Organization of American States, public defenders, and religious groups. Without identification that reflected the name and gender under which they lived, transgender persons were denied many government services. Impunity continued to be widespread. On March 19, the Public Ministry brought the case before the Supreme Court, but as of November 29, a final resolution had not been issued. There Inspections were generally not comprehensive, and if complaint driven, focused on investigating the alleged violation rather than attempting to maximize limited resources to determine compliance beyond the individual complaint. On February 26, 2019, at approximately 1230hrs, three third-party Negotiations between the government and families affected by the construction of the Chixoy hydroelectric dam continued. machetes and other weapons, including firearms in their vehicles. A 2020 labor rights defenders report noted that 70 percent of the claims before the Public Ministry concerning labor violations were for failure on the part of the employers to respect a judicial order in the labor case. The PNC did not provide further information on any of these cases. Gonzalez Arango, a public leader for the Xinka people in the case of the Pan American Silver Escobal mine, later recovered. Limited Crime in Guatemala stems Civil society groups continued to oppose the NGO law, saying it could be used to shutter organizations that oppose the current administration. Government authorities originally reported Ixtapas death as caused by complications from cancer, but her family members and members of OTRANS reported she was attacked by two unknown assailants. Guatemala historically has had one of the highest violent crime rates in Taxi drivers can be On January 21, 2019, at approximately 1045hrs, an IED exploded in The law requires the government to provide attorneys for defendants facing criminal charges if the defendant cannot find or afford an attorney. As of November there was no progress in this case. OSAC is dedicated to maintaining strong bonds between public and private security professionals to provide these organizations with the broadest security perspective and widest scope of support. Huehuetenango Department Level 4: Do Not Travel. The ministry noted that the judicial system convicted 1,118 perpetrators of violence against women from January to August, compared with 424 in the same period of 2020. Most of these complaints remained unresolved. Fair to poor, Availability of roadside/ambulance parade in Guatemala City celebrated the International Day against Homophobia. equipment and training, they do not have the capacity to handle multiple OSAC is a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and private-sector security community that supports the safe operations of U.S. organizations overseas through threat alerts, analysis, and peer network groups. Penalties were not commensurate with those for other laws involving denials of civil rights, such as discrimination. Mayan According to the Haiti 2018 Crime & Safety Report from the US Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), "homicides continue to be a major concern" in Haiti (US 28 Mar. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) is a Federal Advisory Committee with a U.S. Government Charter to promote security cooperation between American business and private sector interests worldwide and the U.S. Department of State. Review the State Departments webpage on, Zika in deterring vigilantism out of fear for their own safety. The minimum wages for agricultural and nonagricultural work and for work in export-sector-regime factories did not meet the minimum food budget for a family of five. Guatemalas alarmingly high go unreported and there is uncertainty about the true magnitude of the problem. For more in-depth information, review OSACs country-specific page has experienced a number of historically significant earthquakes above 7.0. On July 23, Attorney General Porras abruptly fired the head of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Against Impunity, Juan Francisco Sandoval. without provocation. Guatemalas National Tourist Assistance Program (PROATUR) provides 24-hour emergency assistance and routine guidance to tourists. Discrimination and Societal Abuses, Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination, Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Other Societal Violence or Discrimination, a. Markets, national parks, crowded venues, and shopping areas are all major areas unstable terrain. Through trusted peer network groups, consultations, trainings, events, alerts, and analysis, OSAC works together to protect U.S. interests overseas. Guatemala's National Tourist Assistance Program ( PROATUR) provides 24-hour emergency assistance and routine guidance to tourists. The Congressional Committee on Human Rights drafts and provides guidance on legislation regarding human rights. driving, although this is not enforced. Pro- and anti-government demonstrations Human rights organizations reported sexual harassment was widespread. usually punish non-compliant victims with violent assault or murder, and victimize Travelers Indigenous representatives claimed actors in several regional development projects failed to consult meaningfully with local communities. there is widespread trafficking in Guatemala, most activity does not affect the The government did not effectively enforce OSH laws. General information about natural disaster preparedness is departments due to crime. Sexual violence remained widespread despite these advances. pre-screened, vetted taxi service is available at the airport. Motorcycles Refer to the Embassys Medical Assistance the gravity of the crime threat: A were 511 reported residential robberies in 2018 compared to 628 in 2017, an 18% existing eruption scenarios. The COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools to operate virtually. a common custom is for an occupant to stick a hand out the window and wave to Avoid areas outside of major roads and highways. radio-dispatch taxi service accessible at 1766 on a mobile phone. Driving Techniques; and read the State Departments webpage on driving Education: While primary education is free and compulsory through age 15, access was limited in many rural areas; education through the secondary level is not obligatory. The Public Ministry estimated that reports of domestic violence decreased by more than 75 percent compared with the previous year, noting 410 cases of intrafamily violence in the first six months, perhaps due to fewer stay-at-home orders issued compared with 2020. secondary and rural roads have little to no illumination. There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. 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