Increased Violence

I only know what people have been saying...

Things have gotten worse here in Petén. It used to be that everything was run by a few benevolent Guatemalan drug cartels. Sure, they killed people, but most of the time it was people who deserved to be killed. They would even get permission from the governor and chief of police ahead of time. Everybody knew who they were and everybody knew how to stay out of trouble. They were the authority figures here, and once you know who the boss is, you know how to get things done. In the States, the law is the boss in most cases, so if you know the law you can live and work effectively. Here there is no set law that everybody has to follow, so you learn who the real authority is and once you know their guidelines you can live and work effectively.

Before there wasn't very much crime, especially in certain cities controlled by the bosses. In those cities the bosses didn't want their family or friends ending up hurt by some random criminal act, so nobody did anything wrong without being severely punished for it. It was a safe time where you could actually leave your car on the street and know that nobody would mess with it. That's not true in other places in Guatemala such as the City or in Xela or even in Panajachel. A while ago there was a gang problem in one of the large cities here until those people paid the bosses and literally overnight the gangs disappeared...

Now there are a group of Mexicans moving in to take over Petén from the bosses. It's been pretty easy because the Guatemalan bosses are more bribers than fighters. Because they can't handle this threat of Mexicans who are trained fighters, they have to get their buddies in the government to fight for them with the army.

We've been lucky to have martial law declared in Cobán before it happens here. The President chose there because it's the smallest of the departments to soon be declared "under siege." Word is that Petén is next, but they are trying to hire another 4,000 soldiers. There's a new "Help Wanted" sign outside the big base here. I was worried about one thing and then the Mexicans in Cobán did that: threatened to start killing civilians until the army goes away. Thankfully, 10 days after that threat nobody outside of the drug war has been killed. With martial law there are more checkpoints, the military is in control, and you lose all personal rights. They don't have to have a reason to search your vehicle or your home or even arrest you. I need to clarify and say that I am not worried about this at all. Actually the military has been, in recent years, much more trustworthy than the police. In fact, once martial law is implemented they remove every police officer from the department and replace them with people from non-affected areas of Guatemala.

In the past 3 months there have been 7 shootings here in places we regularly visit, two involving people we knew. In a recent one, the bank next to the post office was robbed (with two people shot-a security guard and a robber) in the afternoon after I had been to the post office that morning. That's the trend that I'm worried about. As far as the drug wars go, the only threat right now would be if we were unfortunate enough to drive into a gun battle or something as unlikely as that. The more present threat is that now there is no clear boss and no clear law. That gives the people who did not used to break the law because of the high consequences new courage. Bad habits I formed because of the relative safety now have to be broken. No more running errands after going to the bank or ATM. No more parking in places I can't pull straight out of. More looking over my shoulder and less walking down side streets just because it's faster.

Having said all of that, it is just as safe as ever for tourists. Increased military presence actually makes things better and all the bosses would like to stay out of the spotlight that killing a tourist would certainly bring. The tourist areas have always been very well protected with shops and restaurants on Flores staying open until at least 10pm if not later. There hasn't even been a robbery in Tikal in ages, and that's something you used to always hear about. Maybe the knew guards with their shotguns have helped. No tourist buses have been stopped with groups targeting instead the normal local buses. It's as good a time as any to visit Petén, just don't decide to live here...

It will be nice to get out of our town known for it's "involvement" and into our new house in a town without all of the...issues.

A Friend Goes to the Hospital

In September a friend of mine was drinking with his cousin and some other friends at the Texaco station in Melchor (border town with Belize). While they were sitting there, a blacked out car pulled up and opened fire on the group of them. One of the friends was killed, his cousin was hit in the arm and a 9mm bullet hit Luis in the neck, hitting below the chin on his left side and exiting on the right. He lost a lot of blood but before that could still walk. An ambulance "rushed" him the 1.5 hr trip to San Benito and their public hospital.

Luckily the bullet didn't hit anything important. He had surgery and afterwards could talk. He had difficulty swallowing but was told that was because of the swelling. I saw him the day after he was admitted. It was not my first time to the hospital, but I'd never been to the wards before.

I walked to the information desk even though it was 1pm and visiting hours aren't until 6-8pm. Luis told me on the phone, "They'll let you in. You're white." I told them I was there to visit Luis and what bed he was in. Not only did they let me go, the lady got up from her desk (with others in line behind me) and walked me past the police checkpoint and into his room in the Men's Surgery Wing where she pointed at him and left.

I say his room, but it actually belonged to six guys. They each had a worn out hospital bed with different sheets on them (the family is responsible for providing linens) and none of them had a gown on. They were all in various stages of dress with one guy in a long sleeved flannel shirt, jeans and his rubber boots. Luis was down to some barely on shorts. It was hot. There was no TV, no magazines, no air conditioning or even fans, not even any public health posters. Somebody had brought Luis a small desktop fan and his phone charger. He also had several bottles of water and a gatorade, but he couldn't swallow so it didn't do him much good.

I spoke with him for a few minutes sitting on the end of his bed (the chair for his guests was taken by the fan) but it was hard for him to talk because of the swelling. He took his bandages off and showed me the bullet holes before re-sticking them back on. It was actually hard to sit there because of the stink. I'm not sure whether it was him or one of the other 5 guys sweating and recovering from surgeries. I ribbed him about his choices in friends (the one who died was the target of this "cleanup") to which he replied, "Everybody has their problems."

This was on a Thursday and even though the doctor thought he would be ready to go on Saturday, he would have to wait until Monday when the doctor got back in town. Doctors take turns flying in from the city to work Monday-Friday in these free government run hospitals. On the weekends there is only one first year resident for the entire hospital. The highest rank in class gets to choose their location first and nobody wants to come to Petén so most hospitals here are run by your lower than average medical students on the weekends. They're not allowed to discharge very many people.

He was sent home Monday and has pretty much recovered. I told Shelley that I now have a list of 26 different emergency plans that rank above going to the general hospital. One of those is to let me slowly but mercifully bleed out (ok maybe not, but our Vet is truthfully #2 on the list.)

Even though I don't think there are very many privacy laws in Guatemala, my US conscience wouldn't let me take pictures. Instead, here's the scene of the shooting:

Sand, Mud Slides and Sinkholes...Oh My!

We've received a lot of emails today asking if we were affected by the storms and stuff from last week. I can happily tell you that there are benefits to being in the jungle! All Agatha did to us was steal our rain clouds for a few days to return us to the blistering hot days of dry season. We don't have any volcanos or even mountains to fall on us, so ha ha to all of you people in Antigua with your "perfect weather all year" or "land of eternal spring."

But seriously, there is great devestation in the mountains and many of our friends were greatly affected. Here are some links if you would like to see pictures of the volcanic sand in Guate and want to know why the airport is closed down, or the sink holes in Guate, or go to expat mom's website to read several interesting posts about the storm and it's effects.

I tried getting everybody to come to Petén, but had no takers. For now, the skies are clear.