El Señor Presidente in La Antigua Guatemala

Central Park and the streets nearby were militarized for about 10 hours, beginning around 5 a.m. because El Señor Presidente of Guatemala decided to have a meeting with the municipality majors of Sacatepéquez (that’s the name of Departamento or State to which La Antigua Guatemala is the capital).

As I walked into Central Park I was amazed by the large numbers of police men, secret service agents, army, tourist police, motorcycle police and bodyguards around Central Park. I have never seen so many armed forces in La Antigua Guatemala. As began to inquire why there were so many army and police agents, I was told that El Señor Presidente was having a meeting inside the Municipalidad (City Hall). Some local police men shared with me that they wish the general population receive a fraction of this security.

My pure chance I was there when motorcades were about to leave the area and just then I realized that the vice-president and Marlene Blanco, Director of the National Police, were also present. Marlene Blanco is the first woman ever to head the National Civil Police; that the equivalent of the Federal Police or FBI in other countries.

Glancing a note at elPeriodico newspaper, I found out the meeting was about the security in the 16 municipalities in which the Departamento of Sacatepéquez is divided and that’s why the Director of the National Police was present. On unrelated note, Prensa Libre newspaper reported that Guatemala is the fourth most violent country in Latin America with a homicide rate of 28,5 per 100 thousand people. I don’t know the homicides rates for other countries, but for sure Guatemala is trying to win the first position. 🙁

Can you share with us the homicide rate for the country you live in?

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