Two of Guatemala's leading figures in the fight against the cocaine trade have been arrested for alleged involvement in a bloody drugs heist in which 700kg of cocaine was stolen from a criminal gang.
National police chief Baltazar Gonzalez and anti-drug czar Nelly Bonilla were both arrested, along with another police officer, by government agents working with the International Commission Against Impunity, a UN-sponsored anti-corruption agency in Guatemala. The arrests follow an incident in April last year in which five police officers died in a fire-fight with drug traffickers. The gun battle is thought to have taken place after the officers - acting as part of a larger group - stole 700kg of cocaine from a warehouse used by the traffickers and had returned to collect more cocaine and a stash of automatic weapons. The group were allegedly ambushed by the drug gang upon their return, resulting in the deaths.
Guatemalan anti-narcotics agents allegedly prevented federal prosecutors from accessing the crime scene and the deaths of the five officers were never investigated internally, leading prosecutors to suspect that something was awry. Their investigations led them to uncover a well-organised crime syndicate within the anti-narcotics force which sought to profit from intercepting shipments of drugs and weapons. The corruption seemingly went all the way to the top.
Despite the arrests on Tuesday, no formal charges have yet been brought against the men.
Guatemala is a strategically important part of the trafficking route for cocaine as it transits from Columbia to Mexico on its route to the US and beyond. Mexican cartels are understood to operate widely within neighbouring Guatemala and corruption is rife within the country.
Read more at the Miami Herald and BBC News
No comments:
Post a Comment