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### Viewing cable 09GUATEMALA106, UNDER NARCO THREAT, RULE OF LAW COLLAPSING IN COBAN

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09GUATEMALA106 | 2009-02-06 10:10 | 2011-02-13 12:12 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Guatemala
Appears in these articles: http://wikileaks.jornada.com.mx/notas/zetas-en-guatemala/

`

    VZCZCXRO5114
    PP RUEHLA
    DE RUEHGT #0106/01 0371015
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P 061015Z FEB 09
    FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6898
    INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
    RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 5071
    RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 0007
    RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
    RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
    RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
    RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
    RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 GUATEMALA 000106

    SIPDIS

    DEPT PLS PASS TO AID FOR LAC/CAM - SEIFERT

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2019
    TAGS: PGOV SNAR EAID KCRM ASEC PHUM PINR MX GT
    SUBJECT: UNDER NARCO THREAT, RULE OF LAW COLLAPSING IN COBAN

    REF: A. 2008 GUATEMALA 387
    ¶B. 2008 GUATEMALA 1593

    Classified By: Pol/Econ Counselor Drew Blakeney for reasons 1.4 (b&d).

    Introduction
    ------------
    ¶1. (C) Confronted by the threat from three narcotrafficking
    groups, including recently arrived "Zetas" from Mexico, the
    local Rule of Law (ROL) apparatus in the northern city of
    Coban is no longer capable of dealing with the most serious
    kinds of crime. What is happening there is typical of many
    rural areas of Guatemala. Sources tell us that Coban's
    police are corrupt and allied with traffickers, and sometimes
    even provide them escort. Some judges and prosecutors are
    too frightened to do their jobs properly; others are in
    league with the traffickers. Asserting that security is not
    his job, the mayor is turning a blind eye to the
    narco-violence in Coban's streets. Wholesale restructuring
    of the ROL apparatus -- not mere personnel changes -- would
    be required for the state to adequately reassert its
    authority. End Introduction.

    Mexican Zetas Settling Down in Coban...
    ---------------------------------------
    ¶2. (C) Prompted by accounts that more than 100 Mexican
    "Zetas" (the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel, members of which
    are former soldiers) have taken up residence, Pol/Econ
    Counselor visited the northern city of Coban, Guatemala,
    January 11-13. AID officer made a follow-on trip to the
    region Jan. 20-22. Coban, which is the capital of Alta
    Verapaz Department, and its surrounding areas have a
    population of approximately 150,000. Most inhabitants are
    from the Q'Eqchi' and Poqomchi' indigenous groups, though the
    area has many Spanish-speaking Ladinos as well. A September
    2, 2008 shoot-out in front of the shopping mall involving
    Mexican and Guatemalan traffickers armed with military
    weapons brought Coban's growing narcotrafficking problem to
    national attention. Coban is no longer the peaceful place it
    was just a year and a half ago, although some interlocutors
    reported that the Zetas are now trying to keep a lower
    profile in order to avoid national and international
    attention.

    ...with Help from Local Authorities
    -----------------------------------
    ¶3. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX, a ten-year resident of Coban, said there were
    three main narcotrafficking groups/leaders in Coban: Walter
    Overdic Mejia, the local representative of the Guatemalan
    Lorenzana Family of Zacapa; "El Loco" Turcios, the local
    representative of the Mendoza drug trafficking family of
    Izabal; and most recently, more than 100 Mexican Zetas.
    Overdic had invited the Zetas in, thinking he could arrange a
    lucrative partnership, but now the Zetas are taking over,
    XXXXXXXXXXXX said. They are buying land forming a corridor to
    the Mexican border, and have met with local African palm
    growers to tell them which land they can buy and which they
    cannot. They kidnapped some of the growers, employees to
    underline their point.

    ¶4. (C) According to XXXXXXXXXXXX, scores of mid- and
    lower-ranking Zetas have taken up residence in "El Esfuerzo
    1" and "El Esfuerzo 2," two poor neighborhoods in Coban,s
    western Zone 12, adjacent to the airport. (Comment: During
    a visit to the two impoverished neighborhoods, Pol/Econ
    Qa visit to the two impoverished neighborhoods, Pol/Econ
    Counselor observed many idle youths. It appeared that they
    could easily be manipulated by outsiders with money.)
    XXXXXXXXXXXX said immigration authorities are helping the Zetas
    obtain Guatemalan passports and other documents to normalize
    their status in the country. The Zetas also are believed to
    operate a training camp in the area. In separate
    conversations with AID officer, XXXXXXXXXXXX, native of Coban, said Zetas freely use the
    airport, even during daylight hours.

    ¶5. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX said he had seen police XXXXXXXXXXXX personally
    escorting the Zetas. In addition to assisting the Zetas,
    XXXXXXXXXXXX has been in the employ of both of the main
    Guatemalan rival traffickers, Turcios and Overdic, and has
    betrayed both, according to XXXXXXXXXXXX. One or the other may

    GUATEMALA 00000106 002 OF 004

    assassinate him soon, XXXXXXXXXXXX speculated. He noted that
    the September firefight with military weapons occurred in
    front of the shopping mall, 500 meters from the police
    station. The PNC did not respond. The genesis of the
    firefight, according to XXXXXXXXXXXX, was Overdic had sent
    Jorge Flores to ambush the Zetas in retaliation for their
    March 25 murder of Juan Leon in Zacapa (ref b). When the
    SAIA (Counternarcotics Analysis and Information Service)
    briefly detained Overdic,s wife and son, Overdic announced
    on local radio that if they were not immediately freed, he
    would "blow up the shopping mall, and the commercial center
    of town." Storekeepers duly closed for the day, and the mall
    was evacuated. Mrs. Overdic was released. (Note: During a
    search of the Overdics' bodyguards' quarters, investigators
    allegedly found three checks to Army Colonel Carlos Adolfo
    Mancilla, according to the International Commission Against
    Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Mancilla has since been
    promoted to Brigadier General and made Deputy Chief of Staff,
    ref b.)

    Mayor, Police Chief Don't See a Problem
    ---------------------------------------
    ¶6. (C) From Coban but not having lived there since
    childhood, Mayor Leonel Chacon of the FRG left the textile
    business in Guatemala City to return home to run for mayor.
    He was eager to discuss his economic development plans with
    Pol/Econ Counselor, but was visibly nervous when asked to
    discuss security and narcotics trafficking. He said that
    narcotraffickers could at times be seen in Coban, but had no
    negative impact on local life. He dismissed reports of Zetas
    in Coban as "rumors," and did not react to mention of the
    September shoot-out, Walter Overdic, and Overdic,s alleged
    murder of an appellate court judge two years ago. "I don't
    have a problem with anybody," Chacon said. He mentioned that
    common crime has long remained at a constant, low level.
    Despite the mayor's assurances, XXXXXXXXXXXX told AID
    officer that local cocaine consumption was growing, and that
    the narcotraffickers' local transportation network now
    includes many taxi drivers and small farmers.

    ¶7. (C) Police XXXXXXXXXXXX told Pol/Econ Counselor that narcotraffickers
    occasionally use the Coban area as a transportation corridor,
    but do not disrupt local life. He said the September
    shoot-out was Juan Leon's supporters ambushing Mexican Zetas.
    "It doesn't worry me if they want to kill each other,"
    XXXXXXXXXXXX said. Key to interrupting narcotraffickers'
    operations is more patrolling, he asserted, but with just 280
    PNC officers to cover the whole of Alta Verapaz Department,
    that was not possible. XXXXXXXXXXXX said he personally had
    transported Walter "The Tiger" Overdic to jail on several
    occasions during his previous assignment to the area, but
    since judges freed him each time, there was little point in
    going after him or other narcotraffickers again. Common
    crime has long remained at a constant, low level. Youths
    from impoverished Zone 12, at the western end of Coban, are
    trying to imitate Guatemala City gang members, but so far
    haven't been much of a problem, XXXXXXXXXXXX said. (Note: Mayor
    XXXXXXXXXXXX and Mayor XXXXXXXXXXXX and Mayor of XXXXXXXXXXXX
    separately told AID officer that Alta Verapaz residents tend
    to report drug crimes to municipal authorities rather than to
    the police because they are convinced that Chief Sandoval and
    his officers are in league with traffickers. End Note.)

    Judicial Workers Intimidated
    ----------------------------
    ¶8. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX said his conscience was
    clear, and that he was doing the best job he could while
    bearing in mind Coban,s "new realities." (Note: XXXXXXXXXXXX is
    one of three judges who may have made decisions helpful to
    Overdic, according to CICIG.) "I do not wish to become a
    martyr," XXXXXXXXXXXX said, noting that he drives himself to work,
    has no security, and his family lives nearby. Local police
    are corrupt, XXXXXXXXXXXX said, and he did not know whom to trust
    within local rule of law institutions. XXXXXXXXXXXX acknowledged the
    local presence of Zetas and other traffickers, but would not
    go into details. He said it was time to consider a new,
    extraordinary arrangement that would provide protection for
    judicial workers and their families. Anonymity would have to
    be part of the arrangement, which would need to include far

    GUATEMALA 00000106 003 OF 004

    more robust investigative and policing capabilities.

    ¶9. (C) Criminal Prosecutor XXXXXXXXXXXX of the
    Public Ministry (MP, the Attorney General's Office) told
    Pol/Econ Counselor that she "had never intended to join the
    army, or do any other job likely to get (her) killed" when
    she became a prosecutor decades ago. XXXXXXXXXXXX.
    When she drives herself to work each morning, she goes past a
    line of inmates, family members, who are awaiting access to
    their loved ones inside, she said. "I put some of those
    inmates in that prison. Do you think their family members
    notice me when I drive by? Do you think they point at me?
    They do," she said. Mentioning that she regularly rides
    public busses alone, XXXXXXXXXXXX said she would like to vigorously
    pursue cases against narcotraffickers, but feels too
    vulnerable to do so. Furthermore, she said, local police
    were not trustworthy. Her workload is on the rise: the Coban
    MP's common criminal case load had increased from
    300-400/month two years ago to 600-800 now, and was
    distributed among three prosecutors and four assistants. "We
    cannot go on like this ... something has got to change," she
    concluded. There was consensus among AID officer's
    interlocutors that judges and prosecutors are turning a blind
    eye to narcotraffickers because they fear for their lives,
    and those of their family members.

    Better Leadership in Neighboring Tactic
    ---------------------------------------
    ¶10. (C) Pol/Econ Counselor also traveled to three ethnic
    Poqomchi, towns immediately south of Coban -- Santa Cruz,
    San Cristobal Verapaz, and Tactic. Unsatisfied with the
    usual mayors, answer that they do not deal with security
    issues, Hugo Rolando Caal Co, the newly-elected Mayor of
    Tactic, decided he would. He organized neighborhood
    "intelligence committees" to gather information on outsiders
    and criminals, which report information to the Mayor's
    Office, which then reports it to ROL authorities. He is also
    installing street cameras that will be monitored from a
    central site at the municipality building. Caal said he is
    considering joint security initiatives with the mayors of the
    other three ethnic Poqomchi' towns -- Tamahu, Santa Cruz
    Verapaz, and San Cristobal Verapaz. He noted that it is easy
    for residents of the four Poqomchi' towns to spot outsiders
    because they generally do not speak Poqomchi'. Caal Co hoped
    to capitalize on the Poqomchis' unique linguistic identity
    for the community's security benefit.

    ¶11. (C) Caal said a recent, gruesome murder made him think
    for the first time that perhaps narcotraffickers had come to
    Tactic. Hundreds of townspeople had attempted to lynch the
    suspected perpetrators on the morning of January 13 (during
    Pol/Econ Counselor's visit), but PNC Chief Sandoval and his
    men arrived to take the suspects into custody. Caal was
    critical of ROL authorities, saying they needed to be more
    efficient and vigilant. He and other municipal leaders told
    AID officer that the PNC's living and working conditions are
    not such as to inspire loyalty to the state, and that the GOG
    needs to do more for its police, starting with better
    Qneeds to do more for its police, starting with better
    salaries. In the meantime, Caal Co told AID officer, the
    army, which is a stronger institution, should do more joint
    patrolling with the police. This would serve to strengthen
    the state's law enforcement presence and might encourage
    better police comportment.

    ¶12. (C) Judge XXXXXXXXXXXX opined that the ROL
    apparatus is broken. The PNC and MP often accuse judges of
    freeing criminals, but the Penal Code was written in such as
    a way as to make that the likeliest outcome. Guatemala
    desperately needs to reform its Penal Code, he said. In
    cases in which laws, sentencing provisions conflict, such as
    in the case of the Femicide Law (a copy of which he had on
    his desk) and the Penal Code, judges were forced to apply the
    lesser sentence. Despairing of the status quo, XXXXXXXXXXXX said,
    "Soon there will be no choice but to resort to martial law."
    While Tactic had remained relatively quiet, XXXXXXXXXXXX said Coban
    was out of control. He related that three truckloads of
    Zetas recently stopped a police patrol to inform the two PNC
    officers that a narcotrafficking operation was imminent. The
    PNC officers should remain silent and go on their way,
    "unless either of you are dissatisfied with your salaries, in
    which case you should come with us," the Zetas had told the

    GUATEMALA 00000106 004 OF 004

    police.

    Comment
    -------
    ¶13. (C) Coban's ROL infrastructure was never intended to
    deal with the kind of threats to public order that it now
    faces, and is collapsing. The process of loss of state
    control now underway in Coban has already occurred in other
    parts of the country, including Zacapa and Izabal
    Departments, as well as parts of Jutiapa, Chiquimula, San
    Marcos, and Peten Departments. Without outside intervention,
    Coban will join the growing list of areas lost to
    narcotraffickers.
    McFarland

`