Traffic parade in Guatemala City celebrated the International Day against Homophobia. assaults, including against foreigners, are far greater; cultural stigmas and in several departments and municipalities throughout the country. Driving Techniques; and read the State Departments webpage on driving Rape and other sexual offenses remained serious problems. Publishing or otherwise distributing OSAC-derived information in a manner inconsistent with this policy may result in the discontinuation of OSAC support. Many motorcyclists do not have functioning lights and can be difficult to see at No area in Guatemala is immune to crime, 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. Mall; the motives for the crime are unknown, but the incident further Civil society expressed concern that dissolving the Presidents Commission could lead to a lack of mechanisms for enacting the recommendations of international forums, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and could result in restarting the process for creating a national plan for the protection of human rights defenders. The law provides for the right of workers, except for security force members, to form and join trade unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. The first, Andrea Gonzalez, a transgender woman and leader of the transgender NGO OTRANS, was killed in Guatemala City. The commercial sexual exploitation of children, including child sex tourism, remained a problem, including in privately run orphanages. local national employees of the U.S. Embassy were all frequent targets in 2019. evinced a slight downward trend, with a total of 2,351 reported cases compared Indigenous lands were not effectively demarcated, making the legal recognition of titles to the land problematic. kidnapping and police attention to this type of crime, kidnapping is not as viable Police investigations often fail to result in an common trend in the commission of armed robberies is the use of motorcycles by Adult asylum seekers often could not obtain accreditation of their foreign university degrees to practice their profession. targeted extortion attempts. However, PROVIAL patrols most major International human rights organizations reported Hogar Esperanza was housing children in spaces that resembled cages and that there was a clear need for reform to care adequately for children with disabilities. Callejas and Lucas were both previously convicted of serious crimes in the Molina Theissen case and were serving 58-year prison sentences. areas are often understaffed and poorly equipped, and will not typically interfere prevent crime in the first place, is that the police force significantly lacks training killed, and a 15-year-old local boy was seriously wounded in front of a Shell Other factors contributing to the lack of effective enforcement included labor court inefficiencies, employer refusal to permit labor inspectors to enter facilities or provide access to payroll records and other documentation, and inspectors lack of follow-up inspections in the face of such refusals. The country last held national and local elections in 2019. ; Zone 18 and the city of Villa Nueva in Guatemala City due to crime. Fair to poor, Availability of roadside/ambulance congestion in urban areas and the highways leading out of the capital is September 20, 2019, at approximately 0430hrs, a triple homicide occurred at a identified on a GPS may be nothing more than a poorly built dirt road accessible The 2015 Crime and Safety Report from the Regional Security Office released in May this year, notes that crime in El Salvador can run the gamut from credit card skimming to homicide and is unpredictable, gang-centric, and characterized by violence directed against both . route drivers through gang-controlled neighborhoods. OSAC has developed into an enormously successful joint venture, with U.S. companies and organizations receiving the tools they need to cope with security issues in a . Callejas and Lucas were both previously convicted of serious crimes in the Molina Theissen case and were serving 58-year sentences. A Ministries and businesses are required to negotiate only with the largest union, as determined by annual membership. Do not physically resist any robbery attempt. victims has increased through the use of social media in recent years. windows tinted. A variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Often, a second pair of armed In minimize the risk of armed robbery or mishap on Pacaya. Rural in recent years the number of reported extortions has increased, most incidents Civil society decried the move as politically motivated and expressed concern the move would weaken the prosecutions of these cases. communities have also increasingly taken over their local municipalities with Mobile Devices: Trends & Best Practices, and Satellite No law requires such access, nor does the law mandate that persons with disabilities have access to information or communications. became isolated in the town of El Naranjo, located in an extremely remote area traffic concerns throughout Guatemala is, There The OHCHR also noted that many official complaints cited unsafe and cramped conditions at Federico Mora National Hospital for Mental Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guatemala City. The Public Ministry continued to investigate allegations of illicit campaign financing in the 2015 elections, including a case against Sandra Torres and the National Unity of Hope Party. the period January-November 2019, the Observatorio Overall Crime and Safety Situation U.S. Embassy Guatemala City does not assume responsibility for the professional ability or integrity of the persons or firms appearing in this report. Guatemala members and imitators will use various types of social media to threaten their targets reports of suspected human trafficking. Defendants and their attorneys may confront adverse witnesses and present their own witnesses and evidence. climbers. These trends are not isolated to Rural road conditions/maintenance: Guatemala invasions, Best In January 2019, more than 200 police officers According to the ministry, the case involved a minimum of 32 massacres, 97 selected killings, 117 deaths due to forced displacement, 37 cases of sexual assault, and 80 cases of forced disappearance. outside the city is limited. The third of the June killings was a gay man who was shot and killed in Morales, Izabal. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, 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. NGOs also reported the government, fringe groups, and private entities used threats of legal action as a form of intimidation. UNHCR reported that identification and referral mechanisms for potential asylum seekers were inadequate and requirements to travel to Guatemala City for parts of the process continued to limit access. In January the Cabinet for Social Development officially introduced an executive policy to support the integration of midwives into the health-care system. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, prenatal care decreased by 16 percent. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer interference in union activities and requires employers to reinstate workers dismissed for organizing union activities. On August 30, Judge Miguel Angel Galvez ruled there was sufficient evidence to bring the case to public trial. The law does not prohibit all the worst forms of child labor. Review the State 2019, the Guatemalan and U.S. governments worked closely on immigration issues The law prohibits such actions, and the government generally respected these prohibitions, but there were credible reports of harassment of the families of officials. Nonetheless, reporters covering organized crime, including its links to corrupt public officials, acknowledged practicing self-censorship due to the danger investigative journalism created for them and their families. According to official government On August 23, congress rejected the widely unpopular declaration. Care in private hospitals is for major hotels, some government buildings and major museums that have access The Labor Ministry reopened during the year after closing because of COVID-19 restrictions, but its labor rights enforcement performance did not improve. general populace. As of November this had not been completed. Guatemalan Tap company is unsafe to drink. The PNC initially detained 11 of the 17 individuals and detained a 12th when he voluntarily attended a related judicial proceeding. Since July, 2021 the United States has shared 8,500,060 safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses with the people of [ Country] - free of cost. *OSAC does not support private U.S. citizen travelers or individuals not affiliated with a U.S. private-sector organization. in Tegucigalpa. The Special Prosecutors Office for Crimes against Judicial Workers and Unionists reported that from January to August, it had received 53 complaints of crimes or offenses against trade unionists and labor activists. 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. drivers must yield when entering a traffic circle. There was a substantial backlog of cases in the labor courts that caused delays of up to three years per case. Anecdotally, wage discrimination based on race and sex occurred often in rural areas. Statistics from 2019 point to a further downward trend with a total Such cases require the assistance of Zone 18 and Villa Nueva within the Guatemala Department Level 4: Do Not Travel. without provocation. Central America Natural Disaster Emergency Planning: OSAC you travel, consider the following resources: The contents of this (U) report in no way represent the policies, views, or attitudes of the United States Department of State, destroyed entire communities. 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. mudslides, and landslides pose a major risk to urban and rural areas alike. A judge has the discretion to determine whether bail is permissible for pretrial detainees. Many employers in the agricultural sector reportedly conditioned payment of the minimum daily wage on excessive production quotas that workers generally were unable to meet. available locally from the National Disaster Reduction Coordination Office (CONRED) and from the U.S. Federal Emergency Level 2, indicating travelers should exercise increased caution due to crime. has a number of infrastructure concerns. 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. Additionally, The law provides for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation. is an annual report produced in conjunction with the Regional Security Office Barrio 18 intended to attack taxi drivers to pressure them into paying travelers. Criminals habitually assault and murder According to the ministry, the case involved a minimum of 32 massacres, 97 selected killings, 117 deaths due to forced displacement, 37 cases of sexual assault, and 80 cases of forced disappearance. INACIF (Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Forenses de Guatemala), or the United States Government, except as otherwise noted (e.g., travel advisories, public statements). The NGO Conrad Project Association of the Cross estimated the workforce included approximately one million children ages five to 17. The ministry reported 48 convictions for child abuse from January through August, compared with 14 during the same period in 2020. Review the State In several instances when PNC or Public Ministry investigators opened a case against high-level officials, the investigators were subsequently removed. LGBT people Crime and Safety OSAC and murder analysis occur On the evening of July 23, Sandoval fled the country after he held a press conference at the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, in which he implicated several sitting and former government officials in corruption cases. Publishing or Inspectors were encouraged to seek police assistance as required. Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Civilian authorities at times did not maintain effective control over the security forces. Of these, 64 percent of victims were women and 36 percent men; 21 percent were minors and 9 percent were older than 60. bus drivers, extortion threats are also reported in other commercial sections traffickers. The National Tripartite Commission on Labor Relations and Freedom of Association encouraged social dialogue between the Ministry of Labor, unions, and businesses, and monitored and facilitated implementation of the 2013 ILO roadmap and its 2015 indicators. Observers noted that net centers, or collections of social media accounts operating from office buildings associated with government information sources, increased activity creating fake social media accounts to criticize and defame journalists. or the Country Councils Public-Sector The causes of these cancellations included missed court dates by prosecutors and defense attorneys due to sicknesses related to COVID-19, staffing and logistical constraints that prevented the transportation of preventively detained inmates from attending hearings, and the refusal by many court officials, many of whom were advanced in age, to attend hearings in fear of contracting COVID-19. The NGO stated these took place mostly in interior departments of the country with weak law enforcement structures and that the increase of incidents resulted from the lack of stay-at-home orders, compared with the previous year. 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