An Ordinary Week in Guatemala City, 2008
Here, life is worth nothing.
More than ten years after the peace agreement which put an end to the longest (36 years) and bloodiest civil war in Central America, the violence hasn’t ceased in Guatemala, and remains the major preoccupation of the country’s population.
Guatemala has not finished counting its dead. In the capital alone, there has been an average of 20 murders per day since the beginning of the year. The streets of Guatemala City are amongst the most dangerous in the world. Hiring a hitman costs 100 Quetzals (10 Euros). There are an estimated 360,000 legal weapons and 2 million illegal weapons in circulation.
16 July 2008 – Zona 18, Paradise II district.
Two members of the Mara 18, enter St Raphael’s school to kidnap a young girl. One of the pupils, Felix, 17 years old, is shot dead in the courtyard and two others are seriously injured.
14 July 2008, 5pm – Zona 18, Santa Faz (sacred face) district.
A young woman, about 20 years old, is shot dead by two unknown men armed with an Uzi. The victim has no papers. The police will find a bag containing a uniform from the Livingston College located in the area and a receipt in the name of Zulma Elisabeth Rodriguez. On her left wrist there is a mark on the stamp, a sign of a recent visit to the Zone 18 detention centre.
12 July 2008, 10am – Zona 4, terminal district.
The body of a man is found at the exit of a car park, shot with three 9 mm bullets, 6 peppers in hand.
13 July 2008, 10am – Santa Elena Barillas, southern suburbs.
Alejandro Sian, 22 years old, woodcutter and father of two children, is shot dead by unknown men in a lane called “La Joya” (the jewel). He was shot three times in the chest and head and died instantly.
11 July 2008, 12am – Montserrat / Mixco district.
A 64-year-old man is found in his car, at 11:30 am, shot in the head. On the seat, 400 Quetzal and a box of Viagra.
July 17, 2008, 8:30 am – Zona 11, Roosevelt district.
A barber nicknamed “El Chino” (the Chinese), 60 years old, is shot several times in front of his shop. He was also known in the neighbourhood as a football referee.
16 July 2008 – Zona 18, Paradise II district.
Two members of the Mara 18, enter St Raphael’s school to kidnap a young girl. One of the pupils, Felix, 17 years old, is shot dead in the courtyard and two others are seriously injured.
15 July 2008, 7pm – Ciudad Real II district.
Vincente Narcisso Tobas Palma, 28, is shot by an unknown man on his way to church.
13 July 2008, 2pm – Zona 3, La Verbena cemetery.
The unidentified victims, after 3 days, leave the morgue for La Verbena cemetery. The graves are dug in advance. One of the sons of the Rodriguez family, 20 years old, was buried there two weeks earlier. The family came from a village 80 km north of Guatemala City, only hearing the news of his death 10 days later.
15 July 2008, 4pm – Zona 18, “El Rosario” (The Rosary) district.
A truck carrying drinks is attacked. Gerson Lopez Chavarric known as “El Catracho” (the Honduran), 22 years old, a member of a gang already known for numerous robberies, is shot dead by the security guards escorting the merchandise. Four of his accomplices were injured in the attack.
15 July 2008 – Central prison.
16 July 2008, 9am – .
10 July 2008, 5pm – Zona 3, .
15 July 2008 – “El Gallito” district.
The neighbourhood is in the hands of drug traffickers. The inhabitants stand on street corners to prevent foreign presence. Two people who got lost in this neighbourhood were killed in April.
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