Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Guatemala's tourist police
In contrast, Tourist Police (Politur) are generally helpful and have been dispatched to
patrol tourist areas. They have been particularly effective at curbing robberies in areas
where criminal activity was once getting out of hand, including Tikal National Park and
areas in the vicinity of Antigua.
Drugs
Guatemala is a major transshipment point for cocaine coming into the United States from
SouthAmerica,asevidencedbythemanyclandestinelandingstripsfoundinisolatedareas
of Petén department. Marijuana is grown in remote lowland areas of Guatemala and poppy
(the basis for heroin) is grown in the Western Highlands, particularly in the department of
San Marcos.
High-ranking military officials have been implicated in drug smuggling, working with
local cartels linked to Colombia's powerful Cali cartel. United States drug officials have
begun referring to Guatemala as
la bodega
(the warehouse), as it houses a large share of
the cocaine continuing north to Mexico, from where it makes its final entry into the United
