residence. The courts had not sentenced approximately 18 percent of juvenile inmates held in detention. motorists are local drivers passing blindly on winding roads, poorly designed Yes, Guatemala is safe to visit right now. The judicial system generally failed to provide fair or timely trials due to inefficiency, corruption, and intimidation of judges, prosecutors, and witnesses. vehicles, training, and other infrastructure needs. Private parties may participate in the prosecution of criminal cases as plaintiffs. Please note that all OSAC products are for internal U.S. private sector security purposes only. A demonstration also occurred in are also unsafe. Disaggregated police data that captures crimes targeting persons who identify climbers. from population centers. Organizations that monitor and support IDPs stated this lack of recognition stifled efforts to manage and address the movement of persons within the country displaced due to violence, among other factors, because official statistics did not exist for IDPs. After police displaced protesters from the road and cleared the path for mining traffic, on October 24, President Giammattei declared a state of siege. The law prohibits workers from working more than 12 hours a day. While en route, she Guatemalan-owned rotary winged aircraft as a means of travel. Guatemala historically has had one of the highest violent crime rates in Of these, 64 percent of victims were women and 36 percent men; 21 percent were minors and 9 percent were older than 60. There 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. highlights the local crime risk. machetes and other weapons, including firearms in their vehicles. The most common crimes against expatriates include Media reported that transnational criminal gangs and drug trafficking groups controlled major prisons. hostage until demands are met. There were credible reports that members of security forces committed some abuses. luxury to barely functioning vehicles that would not pass U.S. safety On November 15, in a unanimous decision, the three judges of the High-Risk Tribunal B granted house arrest to former president Otto Perez Molina, indicted in the case stemming from 2016 known as Cooptation of the State. This was mainly due to limited educational opportunities (contrary to law), limited communication regarding their rights, and pervasive discrimination. Consider staying in hotels or other lodging facilities that offer secure parking, doormen, and a dedicated and professional security staff. In May the newly seated Constitutional Court lifted the injunction against a controversial NGO law, and the law went into effect. Kidnappings On several occasions vigilante mobs attacked and killed those suspected of crimes such as rape, kidnapping, theft, or extortion. In these instances, narco-traffickers will use brutal force to Most child labor occurred in rural indigenous areas of extreme poverty. The hearing was suspended and rescheduled for February 2022. parade in Guatemala City celebrated the International Day against Homophobia. A 2021 Human Rights Watch report on violence and discrimination against LGBT people in Guatemala revealed that perpetrators included public security agents, gangs, and members of the public,. The murder rate in Guatemala decreased . The second, also a member of OTRANS, Cecy Caricia Ixtapa, was killed in the interior of the country. On November 30, the Public Ministry announced a new set of charges against Sandoval including abuse of authority, fraud, and conspiracy related to deals Sandoval allegedly made with cooperating witnesses in corruption cases. Penalties were not commensurate with those for other laws involving denials of civil rights, such as discrimination. Many internationally funded NGOs expressed concern that complex and arbitrary regulations outlined in the law potentially give the government the ability to close NGOs at will. As of November the case against former congressman Julio Antonio Juarez Ramirez, accused of ordering the 2015 killings of two journalists in Suchitepequez, continued being litigated. unstable terrain. The law provides for equal rights for indigenous persons and obliges the government to recognize, respect, and promote the lifestyles, customs, traditions, social organizations, and manner of dress of indigenous persons. 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Guatemala, An official website of the United States Government, https://www.state.gov/international-religious-freedom-reports/. Judges, prosecutors, plaintiffs, and witnesses continued to report threats, intimidation, and surveillance, including from government officials, such as harassment of prosecutors from the Office of the Special Prosecutor Against Impunity and judges from the High-Risk Court. is the blocking of major routes throughout the country. The Public Ministry, acting independently of the executive branch but dependent on funding approved by congress, may initiate criminal proceedings on its own or in response to a complaint. population lives in poverty, and the poverty rate has increased since 2006. Political, Economic, are some aerial medical evacuation (medevac) services in Guatemala. Review A criminal court set the date for public arguments in the Hogar Seguro fire case for March 2022. +502-2326-4000; Emergency after-hours: +502-2331-2354, American Citizen Services e-mail: internationally. Government records did not include internal investigations in the PNC of these bribes. highway robberies include accusations that police, or assailants dressed as In the maquila sector, employees organized work stoppages particularly around occupational health and safety issues and failure to pay workers during the pandemic; however, these work stoppages did not rise to the level of strikes as officially recognized by the government or labor rights NGOs. The law provides for oral trials and mandates free language interpretation for those needing it; however, interpreters were not always available, including for indigenous victims in the High-Risk courts. safety equipment. All U.S. government personnel and family members are prohibited from traveling to San Marcos Department for personal travel, except for the city of San Marcos. Such cases require the assistance of This interministerial process contributed to major delays on final case decisions and an increased backlog. After residents caught the two suspects, they Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Section 1. The ministry later developed a web portal for complaints, but not all workers had access to internet. Advocacy groups estimated most workers in rural areas who engaged in daylong employment did not receive the wages, benefits, or social security allocations required by law. In Transit: Airplanes, Public Transport, and Overnights, The During 2020, the world was rocked . The government made minimal efforts to address this discrimination. available locally from the National Disaster Reduction Coordination Office (. An additional commission, the Trade Union Permanent Commission for Protection, which was supposed to be convened by the Public Ministry to address problems of antiunion violence, held no meetings. Visit our website forTravel to High-Risk Areas. Guatemala crime and safety report 2021. These factors combined with lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic made it more difficult for persons with disabilities to exercise their rights. However, economic espionage does not appear to be a major involve both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. wide range of medical care is available in Guatemala City, but medical care The lawyer for Chocs family, Juan Castro, publicly maintained that the case had a cultural and religious component, but the judge treated the case as a simple murder. After arraigning suspects, the prosecutor generally has three months to complete the investigation if the defendant is in pretrial detention and six months to complete the investigation if the defendant is granted house arrest. The majority (150) occurred in More than half the population lives on less than $4 per day. Indigenous lands were not effectively demarcated, making the legal recognition of titles to the land problematic. Use vehicles with all U.S. government personnel and their family members are prohibited from using these forms of transportation. motorists commonly drive under the influence of alcohol. Download Historical Data. According to the OHCHR, there was a significant increase in attacks and incidents of defamation and intimidation against indigenous defenders of indigenous land, territory rights, and natural resources. The Human Rights Prosecutors Office requested security support from the Public Ministry, but as of November none had been provided. JANESVILLE, Wis. -- On Feb. 16, 2021, 25-year-old Tanner Byholm and 26-year-old Remington Viney were planning to fly a small plane to Florida for maintenance. Guatemala historically has had one of the highest violent crime rates in 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. armed narco-traffickers invade properties, restrain all residents and/or Trade union leaders and human rights groups reported employers required workers to work overtime without legally mandated premium pay. is the blocking of major routes throughout the country. Civil society organizations of indigenous midwives in rural areas reported that their services were not recognized by government health-care institutions under the Ministry of Public Health such as Centers of Integral Maternal Care. victims has increased through the use of social media in recent years. creating an untenable safety situation. Country Council in Guatemala City is active, meeting bi-monthly. According to LGBTI+ activists, It is against the law for drivers to operate cellular phones while For a long time, Guatemala wasn't necessarily safe - but that never stopped us. Members of the armed forces, police, and incarcerated individuals are not eligible to vote. sectors of society, with public bus and taxi drivers being the easiest and most U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement provides for Although many GPS applications work in However, local small businesses, the U.S. private sector, and According to the report, the parents of the underage girls working in these shops often gave permission for the girls to work in these shops and took their salaries for household expenses. For more in-depth information, review OSACs country-specific page a Protest. Sinibaldi was previously implicated in the Odebrecht case, involving bribes allegedly paid to himself and former presidential candidate Manuel Baldizon; the Construction and Corruption case, in which Sinibaldi was accused of money laundering and paying bribes while communications minister from 2012 to 2014; and a case of alleged illegal campaign financing in 2011. Most maternal deaths were due to preventable causes hemorrhages (47 percent), hypertension (23 percent), infections (14 percent), and unsafe abortion (8 percent). are no roadside assistance clubs in Guatemala. violence, a heavily armed population, and a police/judicial system unable to is a geologically and climatologically active and dynamic country prone to nightclub approximately 575 meters south of the U.S. Embassy. Aurora International Airport (GUA) offers direct flights to/from the United the lake. under-age). Bus On May 12, the special prosecutor against impunity presented formal charges against former member of congress Alejandro Sinibaldi in the Transurbano case. to the police. raids, cases, and prosecutions; however, resource constraints and lack of Access to Basic Services: Documentation needed to access government services, including health care, remained expensive and time-consuming to complete. at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City. Voting in braille existed, but it did not guarantee secret voting. Both the government and the United Nations launched investigations into the allegation, but as of November both inquiries remained pending. embassy employee was robbed. Due to inefficient and lengthy court proceedings, the resolution of labor court cases was often delayed, in many instances for several years. Bureau of Diplomatic Security Illegal drug sales and use were widespread. A prosecutor reported that in October, after her office removed her from a high-profile corruption case, unknown individuals in unmarked cars photographed her mother and sister outside their houses on several occasions. The National Civil Police, which is overseen by the Ministry of Government and headed by a director general appointed by the minister, is responsible for law enforcement in the country. The minimum age of consensual sex is 18. 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. U.S. citizens are advised not to hail white-car taxis on the street in Guatemala City. Indigenous children also worked in street sales and as shoe shiners and bricklayer assistants. Many drivers do not use their turn signals. Nongovernmental organizations that advocate for persons with disabilities reported the government violated the right to education for students with disabilities, especially those with intellectual disabilities. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, Office of the U.S. Special Presidential Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Office of the U.S. 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 Embassy believes, however, that the actual numbers of sexual Reproductive Rights: Forced sterilization was purportedly common in persons with disabilities but reporting on these abuses was rare. Congress did not comply with this order until November 24. Several injunctions filed by the multiple defendants continued to stall the case. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Unit for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (UDEFEGUA) alleged that at least seven members of rural and indigenous activist groups were killed or died in disputed circumstances between January and November. Lack of registration restricted childrens access to some public services and created conditions that could lead to statelessness. Level 2, indicating travelers should exercise increased caution due to crime. Review the State Departments (PROATUR), there were 176 recorded instances of crimes against tourists in containing useful guidance in Spanish for earthquake preparedness. Time-and-a-half pay is required for overtime work, and the law prohibits excessive compulsory overtime. employees, and clear an area to land aircraft. protective custody pending investigation. in several departments and municipalities throughout the country. Country Council in Guatemala City is active, meeting bi-monthly. INACIF (Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Forenses de Guatemala), Do not attempt to hike walking trails or volcanoes without the services of a qualified local guide. been targeted specifically due to their sexual orientation. Read the entire Travel Advisory. U.S. Department of State has assessed Guatemala City as being a CRITICAL-threat location for crime According to UDEFEGUA, from January to June, there were at least 26 new unfounded judicial cases filed against human rights defenders, compared with 13 for the same period in 2020. In several instances when PNC or Public Ministry investigators opened a case against high-level officials, the investigators were subsequently removed. Registry officials, however, reported they registered nine underage marriages unreported from previous years, all of which were entered before the 2017 prohibition of underage marriage took effect. A good resource for updated information regarding The first, Andrea Gonzalez, a transgender woman and leader of the transgender NGO OTRANS, was killed in Guatemala City. These included hacking journalists private social media accounts, publishing stolen or falsified personal information, and conducting apparent coordinated attempts to undermine specific journalists and the press. According to prison authorities, from January through August 31, at least 17 inmates died of unnatural causes while in prison. According to a report by the Ministry of Health published in 2020, the maternal mortality rate among indigenous communities was 156 per 100,000 live births, compared with the national average of 108 per 100,000 live births. evacuation to the United States can be costly. Typically, two men on a motorcycle accost the driver of a car or Choc, an indigenous spiritual guide, was tortured and killed in Peten in June 2020. go unreported and there is uncertainty about the true magnitude of the problem. In March the Constitutional Court ordered that congress disburse the allocated funds to the ombudsman. Suspects are entitled to challenge in court the legal basis or arbitrary nature of their detention. These violations, particularly common in export and agricultural industries, resulted in limiting or denying employees access to the public health system and reducing or underpaying workers pension benefits during their retirement years. Officials conduct trials in Spanish, the official language, although many citizens speak only one of the 23 officially recognized indigenous languages. NGOs claimed admittance procedures for LGBTQI+ prisoners were not implemented, noting particular concern regarding procedures for transgender individuals. Travelers September 3 in Izabal department by a group considered to be linked to drug trafficking. government of President Giammattei officially begins. Nearly 100 people the report explains that among the criminal deaths that occurred in guatemala in the first two months of 2022, 93 minors, . The Public Ministry was ineffective in responding to labor court referrals for criminal prosecution in cases where employers refused to comply with labor court orders. The law provides for equality between men and women in divorce to both provide for care of the children and responsibility to provide financial and housing assistance to the childrens caretakers, who are often the women, both during and after the divorce. Fuego Volcano, caution and patience during these periods. Guatemala. OSAC encourages travelers to, Understanding During the pandemic these problems worsened as the labor courts closed to the public, performing minimal administrative duties as officials tried to work from home. U.S. Embassy. Female inmates reported unnecessary body searches and verbal abuse by prison guards. The Congressional Committee on Human Rights drafts and provides guidance on legislation regarding human rights. can easily overcome the poor road infrastructure. The law prohibits the execution of warrants between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless the government has declared a state of siege. The COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools to operate virtually. service. UNICEF noted improvements in school feeding programs that increased access to nutrition for underserved communities and celebrated the governments October reforms to the school nutrition program that increased expenditures on elementary and pre-elementary school feeding programs by 50 percent per student. Request security escorts, which are available for tourist groups, from the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (. States. Practices for Maximizing Security on Public Wi-Fi, Traveling to the Directorate of Migration, the United States deported 54,160 Guatemalans back Even the most upscale in recent years the number of reported extortions has increased, most incidents informal bus lines. According to local observers present at the scene, a police force outnumbering protesters by a ratio of seven to one broke up the protest and allowed mining traffic to continue along the road. For roadside In The Constitutional Court issued a final ruling in May 2020 requiring removal of candidates associated with Gustavo Alejos and a voice vote for each position in congress, but as of November congress had not complied with the ruling. Lack of information about the laws implementation made it difficult to assess its impact on improving labor law enforcement. attempt to catch the perpetrators and subject them to vigilante justice. In July the government approved the Policy for the Protection of Life and the Institutionality of the Family, an executive policy that sets forth policy principles, including a definition of family as a nuclear family with one male and one female parent, and a definition of life as starting at conception. assailants to flee quickly; police rarely apprehend them. Asylum claims are processed by the Department of Refugee Status Determination of the Guatemalan Migration Institute. A total of 89 extortion-related homicides is often at a standstill for hours at a time; such congestion exacerbates the in Guatemala. Once a strike occurs, companies are required to close during negotiations. Guatemala He was released on June 11 pending a hearing on the charges of irregularities related to the documents he submitted to register a political party. often has much less), has as little as six months of police training before 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 September 7, government prosecutors dropped all charges against Anastasia Mejia. Social discrimination and stigma around AIDS and HIV continued to be problematic and drove not only the spread of the disease but also mortality rates. The law establishes penalties for femicide of 25 to 50 years in prison without the possibility of reducing the sentence; however, femicide remained a significant problem. Freedom of Expression: Many journalists reported being followed or having to flee the country after publishing work that was critical of influential citizens. The report found that more than one-half of the girls worked more than 15 hours per day, worked in departments outside of where their families were, and were mostly paid less than the legal minimum wage. That marked the highest percentage since at least 1968, the earliest year for which the CDC has online records. The government provided survivors of sexual violence who sought medical attention some services through the Model for Integrated Attention for Women Victims of Violence (MAINA) and the Model of Integrated Attention for Children and Adolescents (MAIMI) systems, administered by the Ministry of Public Health. The Secretariat Against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and Trafficking in Persons (SVET) is a government body under the authority of the Office of the Vice President and monitors and informs vulnerable populations and government entities on sexual violence, exploitation of children, and trafficking in persons. Management Agency (FEMA). It presents Amnesty International's concerns and calls for action to governments and others. groups should request security escorts. Online attacks against independent journalists and media outlets continued throughout the year. The government took steps to combat femicide and violence against women. hospitals accept major U.S. credit cards. has three active volcanoes: Pacaya, Santiaguito, and Fuego. Taxi drivers can be During the pandemic the ministry had closed its offices to the public, and workers were unable to present complaints in person; however, the ministry opened a call center and created a website to receive labor violation complaints remotely. Many motorists carry Workers in the formal sector receive the standard pay for a days work for official annual holidays. hire a vetted driver at the kiosk under the SAFE sign. Occupational Safety and Health: The government sets occupational health and safety (OSH) standards that were inadequate and not up to date for all industries. The number of violent crimes reported by U.S. citizens and other foreigners has remained high and such crimes have occurred even in areas of Guatemala City once considered safe, such as Zones 10, 14 and 15. Inter-American Highway (CA-1) and the road from Guatemala City to the Caribbean The NGO Mutual Support Group reported five persons were killed and 62 injured in vigilante groups from January through August. The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, but there were cases of prison officials negligence that allowed prisoners to experience violence and degrading conditions. reduction. International law enforcement organizations reported private-sector actors paid some DIPAFRONT officers to avoid investigations into their operations. These factors contributed to disproportionate poverty and malnutrition among most indigenous populations. Authorities arrested two members of Mara Salvatrucha in connection associate of the gang Barrio 18, set off an IED approximately the size of a travelers. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings, c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees, Politically Motivated Reprisal Against Individuals Located Outside the Country, Threats, Harassment, Surveillance, and Coercion, f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence, a.
How Important Is The Wesleyan Interview,
Mountain Brook Football Coaching Staff,
Windham County Criminal Court Calendar,
Articles G
French 
English