Guatemala is one of the most violent countries in the world. 95% of murders remain unsolved, and the ultra-violent Maras manage drug trafficking, prostitution, and racketeering in the country and spread terror among the population. After several weeks of negotiation, we gained access to some of these gangs.
In the favela of Villanueva, Pedro is at the head of Barrio 18. That he has reached the age of 32 is practically a miracle. It’s rare for gang members to live past 25. The police who try and control his gang are woefully under-equipped. Sometimes, they even have to buy their own ammunition.
Faced with these disturbing levels of violence and an impotent police force, many citizens are choosing to arm themselves. Gun sales have increased by 20% in just one year. Others prefer to join local militants and combat the gangs directly.
In the favela of Villanueva, Pedro is at the head of Barrio 18. That he has reached the age of 32 is practically a miracle. It’s rare for gang members to live past 25. The police who try and control his gang are woefully under-equipped. Sometimes, they even have to buy their own ammunition.
Faced with these disturbing levels of violence and an impotent police force, many citizens are choosing to arm themselves. Gun sales have increased by 20% in just one year. Others prefer to join local militants and combat the gangs directly.
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TVTranscript
00:01Guatemala, a small country in Central America, is one of the most violent states on the planet.
00:08In the capital, Guatemala City, the homicide rate is 50 times higher than in most of Europe.
00:17Street gangs, which they call Maras here, are behind much of this slaughter.
00:30Villanueva is a disadvantaged neighborhood in the capital. Gangs rule these dusty little streets.
00:42After several weeks of negotiations, we have managed to infiltrate one of them on an exceptional one-off basis.
00:50Yesterday, I talked to a guy that I met, and he told me that if they wanted to kill him, he had a lot of trouble.
01:03Underneath his appearance of a good father, Pedro is the local boss of Barrio Dieciocho, one of the country's most violent Maras.
01:12Charged with murder on multiple occasions, Pedro has already served several prison sentences.
01:19He rules his area with an iron fist, and today, he has an issue to deal with.
01:24– Good morning. – Good morning, David.
01:26Good morning.
01:27You're welcome.
01:28Good morning.
01:30We're just going to talk about this first time.
01:35It's a good time that the police were telling us to ask that if we're making real money,
01:42that if we're not able to do everything, we wouldn't get money to our business once upon a basis.
01:45We say that if we make sure that we have to do what we've said, we don't have to do all the money in the street.
01:52I'm already aware of everything, because this has a little bit of a difference.
01:57We're going to have a channel, but honestly, what we need today is to send you to the girls
02:05and we're going to send you to the Chivas.
02:08We're going to send you to the Chivas, always.
02:11We're not going to be putting your fingers on the jury.
02:14You'll know that this is going to run your way.
02:17I want to make my eyes shut up,
02:20and we will go and bring them.
02:24If I want, I will send them to the eyes to bring them,
02:28but please forgive me, I will bring the shampoo.
02:32Pedro has six men under his command,
02:35and today he will task Cristian, his youngest lieutenant,
02:38who is still being initiated,
02:40to collect the money from the butcher whose payment is overdue.
02:44I am proud to have sent me a bag and I will come back here.
02:48You have to deliver the three shops today.
02:52You go to the shop, you go to the shop,
02:55you go to the grocery store at the end,
02:58and you come from here.
03:02Cristian can rely on his teacher's sound advice.
03:06Pedro knows all the tricks of the trade.
03:09What you can do,
03:11so that you don't give the jurors color,
03:13you go to the shop,
03:16and you do the same thing we always do.
03:19You take your bags,
03:21you ask some shivers,
03:23and you give them,
03:24and you give them the orders
03:26so that the jurors don't give you color,
03:28and you go to the rent.
03:30You tell the guy that you give them,
03:32and you know very well,
03:34and you give them the rules.
03:36We have to kill them.
03:43We're going to follow Cristian
03:45in a car with tinted windows
03:47while he pays these favela shopkeepers a visit.
03:52First stop, the grocers.
03:54Then it's the unpunctual butcher's turn.
03:55Then, give me a...
03:56...
04:24...
04:49While Cristian is doing his round,
04:51Pedro is getting ready to set off himself.
04:58Because Pedro is not only the boss of Barrio 18 in the area,
05:02he also officially has another much more respectable business.
05:16He delivers hot lunches that his wife Maria cooks.
05:22Every lunchtime, Pedro walks around the neighbourhood
05:25to sell his lunches nearby for around $2 each.
05:30He makes less than $12 a day doing this,
05:33but more than anything, this acts as a cover to avoid the police.
05:39The attitude of us is to hide our work from the other situation.
05:46The other situation is to sell food,
05:51to hide bad things, not to keep us on the light.
05:56Pedro makes the most of his walk around the neighbourhood
05:59to give us a tour of their holdings.
06:02How many streets do you control the territory here in La Clica?
06:08They are 43, 43 squares.
06:15To mark its territory, the gang has covered some walls with graffiti
06:23mixing Roman and Arabic numerals.
06:26We call them the X, B, 3, 18.
06:29The X, the B, and the 3.
06:31These letters do not mean that we are against the other clique.
06:38We call them the rivals.
06:40Each Mara has developed its own system of symbols
06:43to distinguish it from its enemies.
06:45The members of the group unite around this common identity,
06:50an identity which they display proudly on their bodies.
06:54We represent the neighborhood wherever we walk.
06:58We represent the neighborhood where we walk.
07:02We represent the neighborhood 18,
07:04the clique that we are.
07:07This is the meaning of all these points
07:10and the sign of the telaraña.
07:12This is the sign of the neighborhood 18.
07:14The telaraña is the sign of the neighborhood.
07:17We are growing.
07:19This is the sign of this, of the crazy life.
07:22This is the sign that we have been arrested
07:24with the crates in the middle.
07:29Tattooing is very codified within the gangs.
07:34We cannot tattoo ourselves without the authorization of the men.
07:38The most of the people that are tinted on the face
07:39are already from the most high people,
07:42who have their height already.
07:45They are not the officers.
07:47They are not the officers.
07:49They are the officers.
07:50They are the officers.
07:52They are the officers who order the attacks.
07:56They are the ones who order the attacks.
07:58These leaders with tatooed faces are mostly in prison.
08:02Some of them have been sentenced
08:04to several hundred years' imprisonment.
08:06But this doesn't stop them from managing
08:10their criminal activities from their cells,
08:12their cells, nor from being responsible for thousands of deaths across the country.
08:23Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the Americas. Situated in North Central America,
08:29this small republic of 17 million inhabitants has been led by Jimmy Morales, a former television
08:35comedian, since 2016. The president was elected on an anti-corruption campaign.
08:46But three years after his term began, nothing seems to have changed in the country. What's worse,
08:53Jimmy Morales himself has been accused of illicit financing of his election campaign. Moreover,
09:00he has recently expelled the UN anti-corruption mission, which was investigating just a little
09:06too close to his case. Guatemala is endlessly plagued by corruption and violence. The country
09:11even finds itself among the most dangerous nations on the planet. Over 4,000 murders were recorded
09:17in 2018. That's proportionally 20 times more than in most European countries. Barbaric crimes.
09:25In many plastic bags, they found human remains. Assassination, sometimes in the middle of the street.
09:39Behind these killings are the Maras, violent gangs which terrorize the population.
09:44In the country, two main gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio Dieciocho are fighting to the bitter end.
10:06They control entire neighborhoods, manage drug trafficking, prostitution and extortion.
10:14When people come to the people who come and they send them back to the table.
10:19They send them back to the table.
10:21These gangs are often composed of three young members who shoot without mercy.
10:28After weeks of negotiations, we have managed to infiltrate their world.
10:36We are still alive, because we are still alive. We are here. We are still alive, too.
10:39The Guatemalan police is poorly equipped to combat these malas.
10:54So the richest take refuge in ultra-secure neighborhoods
10:58protected by armed guards.
11:10The poorest have decided to take the law into their own hands by forming militias.
11:23At the heart of the most dangerous favelas in Guatemala,
11:26we see a portrait of a society subject to the law of gangs every day.
11:39In the favela of Villanueva,
11:41all the shopkeepers face extortion under the wrath of Pedro,
11:47the boss of Barrio Dieciocho in the neighborhood.
11:51Christian, his lieutenant, has returned from his weekly round.
11:55It's time to tally up the numbers.
11:59In total, he has collected 900 quetzals,
12:02a little more than 110 US dollars.
12:05The money is distributed in very specific proportions.
12:15This is yours.
12:18And this remains here.
12:20This is what we are going to send to the leaders.
12:24This is the leaders.
12:27So the rest,
12:29I already gave him the man,
12:32the one who belongs to us.
12:34So this rest will stay with me.
12:36And with this rest,
12:37we can use them to
12:40buy supplies,
12:42food,
12:44cigarettes.
12:46We consume it.
12:47Of the 110 dollars collected,
12:50Christian keeps 10 dollars,
12:51Pedro 20,
12:53and the rest, 80 US dollars,
12:54goes to the gang leaders.
12:56Extortion is a godsend for the Maras.
12:59It has become their main business asset,
13:01ahead,
13:02ahead of drugs and prostitution.
13:06From my territory from here,
13:09we collect 5,000 quetzals weekly.
13:14From my colonies.
13:18In other colonies,
13:20we collect 70,000 to 80,000.
13:24And if there is a possibility,
13:26we collect 150,000 weekly.
13:31The number of extortions increased by 15% last year.
13:36A scorch which mainly hits the poorest,
13:38who don't have the means to protect themselves.
13:41Pedro, however,
13:42almost sees himself as a social worker.
13:46We call them taxes,
13:49and most of them call them extortion.
13:51For the same reason,
13:52if you're in a market,
13:53they pay taxes with the money,
13:56so that's what they pay us.
13:58Because the money is responsible for cleaning,
14:00so we do cleaning,
14:02when someone comes to them,
14:05they come to them,
14:06they come to them,
14:08we are responsible for cleaning
14:10other people who come to them,
14:12and they come to them.
14:14If they pay,
14:15they kill them.
14:17We kill them.
14:19Before taking charge of Barrio Dieciocho
14:21in this industry,
14:22Pedro spent 20 years
14:24rising up the gang's ranks.
14:26As the fourth child
14:27of a poor family of 13,
14:29he left the countryside
14:30as a very young boy
14:32to move to the capital
14:33in search of a better life.
14:37Barrio Dieciocho took him in
14:39as soon as he arrived
14:40in Guatemala City.
14:44When I was 12 years old,
14:45I started to do
14:50paris,
14:52banderas,
14:54and that's how we run
14:55the time with them.
14:59From there,
15:00from banderas,
15:01I became a soldier.
15:03From a soldier,
15:05I'm where I am.
15:07At 14 years,
15:08it was my first job.
15:11How many people
15:12do you remember
15:13having killed?
15:15I lost my account.
15:17The truth is,
15:19it's not the minimum.
15:23After the 18th,
15:27it was just right.
15:28within Barrio Dieciocho,
15:31you need to commit
15:32at least 18 murders
15:33to claim the title
15:34Cesario,
15:35or Hitman.
15:37Pedro doesn't seem
15:38to show any remorse
15:39in front of our camera.
15:41And while he may be
15:42a father to four children,
15:44he never backs away
15:45from a contract.
15:47How do you see it
15:48in the case of
15:49that it's a family?
15:50And how do you feel
15:51in that sense?
15:55Well,
15:56we don't feel so good,
15:57but it's an obligation.
16:01It feels bad
16:03from the family
16:04and everything.
16:06But as I say,
16:07it's an obligation.
16:09It's an obligation.
16:10It's an obligation.
16:11So we can't come
16:12and say,
16:13no,
16:14because it's a family
16:15and I have a family.
16:16No.
16:17Order and order.
16:19If Pedro refuses
16:20to obey,
16:21he would be executed
16:22by the gang,
16:23an impossible situation
16:24that Maria
16:25has been dealing
16:26with for eight years.
16:28As a wife,
16:29as a mother,
16:30how do you feel
16:31to practice
16:32this work,
16:33this work?
16:35Well,
16:36bad.
16:38For me,
16:39it's a horrible
16:40thing.
16:41We don't want
16:42to take the life
16:43to another person.
16:44But,
16:45as it is,
16:46it's the work
16:47that I have left
16:48just to look
16:49and see
16:50and call.
16:51Yes,
16:52that's the only thing.
16:54We live
16:55with fear.
16:56I'm afraid
16:57of fear
16:58that something
16:59happens
17:00and I'll leave
17:01alone.
17:02At 32 years old,
17:03Pedro is already
17:04a near miracle survivor.
17:05In the gangs,
17:06it's rare for members
17:07to live beyond
17:08the age of 25.
17:09These Maras,
17:16which enslaved
17:17the country's people,
17:18were born
17:19in the United States.
17:20While Central America
17:21was in the grip
17:22of civil war
17:23during the 70s
17:24and 80s,
17:25many Hondurans,
17:26Salvadorans
17:27and Guatemalans
17:28fled to the USA.
17:29This illegal
17:30and often
17:31idle youth
17:32took refuge
17:33in gangs
17:34at the peak
17:35of their powers
17:36in California.
17:37But when the wars
17:38in Central America
17:39came to an end
17:40in the middle
17:41of the 90s,
17:42the US administration
17:43decided to expel
17:44all the criminals
17:45and illegal immigrants
17:46back home.
17:47Bringing with them
17:48the practices
17:49and attitudes
17:50of LA's street gangs,
17:52they reestablished
17:53themselves in their
17:54respective countries
17:55and formed
17:56all-powerful Maras.
17:57Since then,
18:01the Guatemalan authorities
18:02have struggled
18:03to contain the violence.
18:04In 2018,
18:05the country suffered
18:063,881 homicides.
18:07The justice system
18:08and police
18:09are overwhelmed
18:10by the phenomenon.
18:11In Villa Lobos,
18:12one of Guatemala's
18:13favelas,
18:14a small bunker,
18:15the central station,
18:16has been built
18:17at the entrance
18:18of the neighbourhood.
18:19Here, 54 policemen
18:20alternate night
18:21and day shifts
18:22to ensure the security
18:23of 75,000 inhabitants.
18:26The men live, sleep
18:27and work in these
18:28sparse conditions
18:29in three fitted-out containers.
18:30Marco Alcán,
18:31is a small bunker
18:32and the town
18:33of Guatemala's favelas.
18:34In the town
18:35of Guatemala's favelas,
18:36a small bunker,
18:37the central station,
18:38has been built
18:39at the entrance
18:40of the neighbourhood.
18:41Here, 54 policemen
18:42alternate night
18:43and day shifts
18:44to ensure the security
18:45of 75,000 inhabitants.
18:46The men live,
18:47sleep and work
18:48in these sparse conditions
18:49in three fitted-out containers.
18:51Marco Antonio
18:52has been in post
18:53for six years.
19:21The policemen
19:24pay a heavy price
19:25for the battle
19:26against gangs.
19:27Last year,
19:2878 of them
19:29were killed,
19:30which is proportionally
19:3125 times more
19:32than in most European countries.
19:33The policemen
19:34pay a heavy price
19:35for the battle
19:36against gangs.
19:37Last year,
19:3878 of them
19:39were killed,
19:40which is proportionally
19:4125 times more
19:42than in most European countries.
19:44To compensate
19:45for the risk,
19:46the industry
19:47is fairly well paid,
19:48615 US dollars
19:49per month,
19:50almost twice as much
19:51as the average salary.
19:52But on this salary,
19:53the policemen
19:54have to pay
19:55for part
19:56of their gear.
19:57At the end of the
19:58day,
19:59the policemen
20:00have to pay
20:01for part
20:02of their gear.
20:03At the end
20:04of the day,
20:05the policemen
20:06have to pay
20:07for part
20:08of their gear.
20:09At the end
20:11of the day,
20:12the police
20:13station's
20:14courtyard
20:15becomes a
20:16weapons market.
20:17This
20:18former soldier
20:19turned weapons
20:20salesman offers
20:21the policemen
20:22everything the
20:23administration
20:24doesn't provide them.
20:35They buy
20:36everything
20:37tactical equipment,
20:38compact equipment,
20:40cinturons,
20:41pierneras,
20:42and even
20:43sometimes
20:44they buy
20:45tolvas.
20:46They buy
20:47that with
20:48their own
20:49money.
20:50With their own
20:51money.
20:52Exactly.
20:53Even
20:54uniforms.
20:55The Guatemalan
20:56police lack
20:57everything,
20:58even the most
20:59vital equipment.
21:00as the patrol
21:02gets ready
21:03to go
21:04on a
21:05mission,
21:06only one
21:07man is fully
21:08kitted out.
21:09It's a
21:10anti-ballage
21:11bag.
21:12It's
21:13to support
21:14the shooting.
21:15Important?
21:17Yes,
21:18of course,
21:19but the
21:20institution
21:21doesn't
21:22give
21:23it to
21:24each
21:25element.
21:26No,
21:27no.
21:28Exactly.
21:30Only one
21:31bulletproof vest
21:32which the men
21:33wear in turns.
21:35But also
21:36only a single
21:37light machine gun
21:38among the 54
21:39men.
21:40When it comes
21:41to vehicles,
21:42this 4x4
21:43has been waiting
21:44to be fixed for
21:45years.
21:46Which means
21:47the police
21:48station only
21:49has one car
21:50to carry out
21:51patrols.
22:10Today,
22:11Inspector Carlos,
22:12the police
22:13station chief,
22:14is
22:16the
22:17police
22:18station only
22:19is
22:20the
22:21police
22:22station.
22:23We
22:24are
22:25close to
22:26Lima,
22:27close to
22:28the place,
22:29Florian.
22:30What's
22:31happening, Inspector?
22:32There's
22:3314
22:34years
22:35carrying a
22:36gun.
22:37He
22:38shot
22:39in the morning,
22:40so
22:41he
22:42a
22:43gun
22:44to
22:45kill
22:46people.
22:47The shooter
22:48is only 14
22:49years old.
22:50As is often the case
22:51here, wrongdoers
22:52are very young.
22:53Inspector
22:54Carlos has just received
22:55confirmation of his
22:56address.
22:57He lives in an area
22:58nicknamed
22:59La Isla, right in the heart
23:00of the favela.
23:01an extremely run-down area controlled by guys from Barrio Dieciocho.
23:12The third one is there.
23:13Up, up, up.
23:14There's
23:15one.
23:16Where's
23:17the house?
23:19Or
23:20it will be
23:21that one?
23:22Tell me
23:23someone.
23:24Tell me
23:27someone!
23:29That's the house.
23:32A half-collapsed, corrugated iron shack.
23:38People no doubt live here. They're still washing-drying.
23:44The policemen stay alert.
23:54The young man with the gun seems to have left the house.
23:58The inspector tracks him and makes the most of this visit to La Isla to search the area.
24:03Faced with the Mara's violence, lots of the inhabitants have fled the neighbourhood, leaving their houses behind.
24:10They're removing all the abandoned houses of the sector,
24:14with the intention that they don't be occupied by pandillers.
24:20There's a cleaning of all the houses.
24:22They don't have pandillers, drugs or weapons hidden in these houses.
24:31Sometimes these homes serve as a place for executions.
24:36A few metres away, Inspector Carlos enters an abandoned house.
24:40The policemen have nicknamed it the House of Horror.
24:42Six months ago, it was on the front page news.
24:48La Casa del Terror existe y se encuentra ubicada en zona 12, precisamente en la colonia de Villalobos.
24:54¿Por qué?
24:55Bueno, pues que adentro de varias bolsas plásticas encontraron restos humanos.
25:00Este huevo lo realizaron unos pandilleros para enterrar a dos jovencitas,
25:16las cuales habían sido asesinadas, y habían sido cortadas en partes.
25:23De esta forma en la que en el sector ha desaparecido mucha gente.
25:28Muchas veces son miembros de su misma pandilla,
25:31o son personas que tal vez no quisieron pagar una extorsión o algo.
25:37But the Mara savagery did not end here.
25:42There is another horror scene in the room next door.
25:57Members of Barrio 18 left a clear warning on this war.
26:01Betraying the gang comes with a very high price.
26:07Esta persona era una femina,
26:15la cual tenía una relación sentimental con un pandillero
26:20de la otra clica, de la AMS, rival de la pandilla 18 de acá.
26:25Entonces vinieron los pandilleros del sector y la descuartizaron.
26:29The assassins of the young woman have still not been found.
26:32The young gunman also seems to have eluded the policeman.
26:35Se dio la fuga por la topografía del lugar.
26:39La casa en la que ya se ingresó,
26:43que era donde suponía que él estaba,
26:46Culinda con esos barrancos.
26:50Él ya se dio la fuga,
26:52pero de igual forma se le está dando seguimientos,
26:55se está investigando y tiene que caer.
26:59Inspector Carlos is optimistic,
27:02but in Guatemala 95% of homicides are never cleared up,
27:07and the Maras continue to cause death and destruction in the country.
27:10At Verbena Cemetery funeral processions keep coming, day after day.
27:28Luis, the gravedigger, has a front row seat at the somber procession.
27:4725 burials per day, and most of the victims that Luis buries are barely of age.
28:05There are dozens of youthful faces on the tombstones.
28:11They are menores, 16, 14, 18, 19 years old.
28:25Mucho.
28:27Y es raro el ancianito que viene aquí,
28:31que hizo los muchachos de pierna edad.
28:36In the middle of the path,
28:38this man, gathering his thoughts in front of this grave,
28:41has lost his four sons.
28:44They were less than 25 years old.
28:46Mataron el 2 de marzo del 2002,
28:50cuando iba a cumplir 18 años.
28:52Ahora él iba a cumplir 24.
28:54Él tenía ya...
28:56También lleva a tener los 24.
28:59Bien joven y los mataron.
29:01Sí, hombre, ajá.
29:03O sea que aquí, en Guate,
29:05es muy problemático ser así, va,
29:08de tener, como le dije yo,
29:10anexos a las pandillas, va,
29:12porque no los dejan crecer luego.
29:13Los jóvenes los quieren matar luego.
29:17Son tres los que mataron.
29:20Bueno, ya me habían matado uno antes,
29:22que estaba enterrado allá.
29:24Por allá se llama Walter.
29:28Like his three brothers,
29:30Walter was a member of Barrio Dieciocho,
29:33the same Mara that Pedro was part of.
29:36These gangs are responsible for over 2,500 vests
29:40per year in Guatemala.
29:41If most of the victims are members of rival gangs,
29:45others are ordinary citizens
29:47who refuse to give in to extortion.
29:56Bus drivers are one of the most exposed professions.
29:59Oscar is a bus driver in the capital.
30:12He has been driving passengers from the Florida neighborhood
30:15to the Central Market for 12 years.
30:16And like every morning, he takes to the wheel, filled with fear.
30:26If driving a bus is a pretty safe job in most countries,
30:29in Guatemala it's one of the most dangerous.
30:31Oscar never takes his eye off his wing mirrors.
30:34If driving a bus is a pretty safe job in most countries,
30:40in Guatemala it's one of the most dangerous.
30:43Oscar never takes his eye off his wing mirrors.
30:48Oscar never takes a bus driver in the car.
30:49Oscar never takes a bus driver.
30:51Oscar never takes a bus driver.
30:52From the other side, from the window, when the motorist comes to the front,
31:02from the front, from the window or from the door,
31:09or it may be that two people come,
31:12come a boy or a girl, come sent to the back,
31:16they pass the gun, they stop the driver from the seat,
31:19and they go to the head.
31:22In Guatemala, the news often opens with the assassination of a bus driver.
31:52Last year, 250 drivers and transport employees were shot dead by gang hitmen.
32:02Oscar himself almost ended up on the long list of victims.
32:06Four years ago, he was attacked while returning to the warehouse.
32:10I went down to the bus, I went walking, I went back to the back,
32:20and then I came to the corner of the bus, I came here,
32:27and then I stopped.
32:30I stopped here, I looked at the car, I took the gun,
32:35and then I grabbed, boom, boom, boom, boom,
32:38and then I hit five bullets in the back,
32:42and then I hit five in the back,
32:44and then I hit.
32:4911 body shots in total.
32:53Miraculously, Oscar survived after only a week in hospital.
32:58But not all his colleagues were so lucky.
33:01The Maras robbed bus companies when the buses are on the road.
33:19And when the companies try to oppose them,
33:21the gangs don't hesitate to assassinate their drivers.
33:30Oscar got shot at because his boss had refused to pay one of these gangs.
33:39What happened?
33:41I have to correct them.
33:44OK.
33:45Arreglalo para que salga a trabajar hoy,
33:47pero es lo mas rapido, lo esencial, lo que necesita hoy.
33:50Porque tenemos que ir a ver las otras unidades,
33:52necesito que la otra salga rapido.
33:55Delbis manages this company,
33:57which currently has 14 buses.
33:59She took up the reins of the business
34:01when her husband was killed
34:03for refusing to give in to the gang's blackmail.
34:08Lamentablemente, hace cinco años,
34:10él sufrió un atentado donde perdió la vida.
34:15La situación aquí en Guatemala se ha puesto muy crítica, muy dura.
34:19La violencia ha crecido de una manera exorbitante.
34:25From now on, to save the drivers' lives,
34:28Delbis pays in cash.
34:33They play the same game every month.
34:35¿Qué pasa con las fricciones?
34:39Aquí lo que se hace es que
34:41se llega una persona a recibir la que no conocemos, ¿verdad?
34:46Solamente nos mandan una nota,
34:48nos indican cuánto y listo.
34:50Un mes se pueden pagar 100,
34:52el otro mes se pueden pagar 200,
34:54el otro mes se pueden pagar 300,
34:56o sea, no hay una cantidad fija.
34:58Todo es variable.
34:59Si uno no paga, pues es algo complicado.
35:02Si es complicado.
35:03Porque entonces ya le preguntan a uno,
35:05¿qué está sucediendo, verdad?
35:07¿Complicado qué significa?
35:12Sí, en algunos casos,
35:13en algunos casos puede llevar a la muerte,
35:16o algún atentado.
35:17In the evening,
35:19at the end of Oscar's day,
35:21he returns to his little house
35:23in the poor area of Guatemala.
35:31And as soon as he steps through the door,
35:33his wife Lupita and his daughters
35:35can finally breathe.
35:47¡Papi!
35:52Ahí se arriesgan.
35:54Se arriesgan día a día
35:56a su vida.
35:57Estaría más preocupada porque digo,
36:00bueno, que, que, este,
36:03muchas cosas piensan en mi mente, va,
36:05y eso, no, no estoy tranquila.
36:07Entonces, hasta aquí, no sé,
36:09a veces pienso que, no sé,
36:10si, que siguiera ahí o,
36:13o algo diferente.
36:14No sé, voy a pedirle a Dios
36:17para que Dios nos ayude,
36:18va, así, a otro negocio.
36:21Pero, without any training,
36:23Oscar is unlikely to find another job.
36:26So, he keeps on risking his life
36:27every day for $390 per month,
36:31the average salary in Guatemala.
36:37Faced with the level of violence
36:39in the country
36:40and the helplessness
36:41of public authorities,
36:42more and more citizens
36:43are choosing
36:44to carry a firearm.
36:47In the heart of the capital,
36:49on Avenue 31 to 45,
36:51no more than a dozen shops
36:53welcome shoppers all day.
37:00Protected behind these metal railings,
37:02these shop assistants
37:03sell semi-automatic guns
37:05as well as pump-action shotguns
37:07and even assault rifles.
37:08This man has come to buy himself a present.
37:11This man has come to buy himself a present.
37:14You are going to buy something?
37:18I like this one a lot.
37:19It's like this one.
37:21With this one?
37:22This one?
37:23With decoration?
37:24This one?
37:25With decoration.
37:28Is it in Guatemala
37:30this is important?
37:31Yes, it's a lot.
37:34Why?
37:35It's a lot.
37:36It's a lot to control
37:37of the land,
37:39it's the long term...
37:40you fit in the space.
37:41It's important, it's important.
37:43It's important.
37:46In Guatemala, arms sales have increased by 20% in one year.
37:51There are young, old and working people on the sidewalk a few metres from the shop.
37:56They're all queuing in the arms control manager's office to obtain a gun permit.
38:03And the criteria to obtain one are relaxed, to say the least.
38:11If you have a new weapon, you have to have your passport.
38:14You have to bring your DPI.
38:16You have to bring antecedentes penales.
38:19And policemen have to be clean.
38:21You have to bring your light passport to prove exactly where you live or where you live.
38:28Thanks to flexibilities in the legislation,
38:31nearly one Guatemalan in 30 carries a gun or a rifle to protect himself.
38:36But some inhabitants go further, choosing to arm themselves,
38:41but more importantly, to form civil militias to battle the gangs.
38:45The Basenas neighborhood is in south Guatemala.
38:52Every day at the municipal stadium, Alan calls the shots on his turf.
38:57He's a professional referee and runs the local championship.
39:12But as soon as he steps on the touchline and cleans his boots, Alan retrieves his inseparable companion, a 9mm.
39:25On pitch side or in his car, this 34-year-old father never lets it leave his side.
39:37I'm a fanatic fanatic of all kinds of weapons.
39:46And now, thanks to God, I have my weapon that I like.
39:55It's valued at 22,500.
39:58Alan has put this passion for guns to good use for nearly 15 years to fight against the gangs which are cracking down on the capital.
40:12In his neighborhood, this father of four is the head of a citizen's militia.
40:17It was organized.
40:20It started to organize this when the mareros came to want to ask extorsion for every child who was studying in the school.
40:29That's where the group started to organize.
40:31All the neighbors started to organize.
40:33It was where they said that the mareros are seen or the mareros are dead.
40:36Because we're not even 40 or 50.
40:39We're like 500 neighbors who are organized in the whole village.
40:44Beforehand, the maras targeted by Senas.
40:48But since the neighbors mobilized, the gangs barely ever ventured to the neighborhood.
40:53For Johanna, Alan's wife, this is a relief.
40:57So, in the other hand, they ask you where you are.
41:01They say that the homeless house are asking you to extorsion.
41:05We are here, grace to God, right?
41:07If you realize, there's no trabalho.
41:08Everything is healthy.
41:10The kids go there, nothing masochina.
41:12Everything is calm.
41:14As they are willing to study it.
41:16They will sit here alone.
41:18No do not be afraid that they will experience anything.
41:20Alan goes out on patrol every night to secure the streets, so that the children can play
41:29safely in the neighborhood.
41:36Twice a week he takes two of his sons with him, Alan Junior, aged 13, and Jurek, aged
41:4215.
41:43Gun with a super battery on the belt, balaclavas or masks to avoid reprisals from the Maras.
41:57They're off for a four-hour night patrol.
42:05It's 9 p.m., Alan and his sons meet a dozen neighbors.
42:11Some of them are shopkeepers, others employees.
42:21The youngest still go to school.
42:31Some of the patrollers are equipped with a firearm.
42:38The public authorities turn a blind eye to these citizens' militias.
42:44And according to Alan, all the members of the group who are carrying guns or rifles have
42:51a gun permit.
42:52For those who don't have a license, the money, or aren't legally old enough to carry a firearm,
42:57the patrol gets by with what is available – machetes, baseball bats or golf clubs.
43:04After five minutes on patrol, as they approach the main square of the neighborhood, first
43:11alert.
43:12alert.
43:25First alert.
43:32First alert.
43:40First alert.
43:57After a thorough search, the patrol end up finding something.
44:01First alert.
44:27First alert.
44:28Cannabis is illegal in Guatemala.
44:30After having confiscated it, Alan sends the three young boys home.
44:34Half an hour later, the patrol interrogates someone else.
44:46Once again, two young people smoking joints.
44:55They shoot off without a fuss.
44:57Alan's men rejoin another group of patrollers.
45:00They have set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the favela.
45:04You need to identify yourself to go into Bacenas at night.
45:19The citizens' militia has set up five checkpoints like this one to control access to the neighborhood.
45:29The strategy seems to have paid off as insecurity has significantly diminished for Bacenas' inhabitants.
45:38But sometimes, the Mara still managed to pull off raids.
45:42Last July, three men attacked a delivery truck on 6th Street, resulting in three casualties.
45:48A CCTV camera filmed the scene.
45:55During the attack, one of the attackers sent a message to Alan's militia.
45:59The group has already paid a heavy price for fighting the gangs.
46:12In the past three years, five patrollers have been killed by the Maras.
46:17These images, shot in a cemetery, show men from the militia firing bursts of gunshots in tribute to one of their own, the day he was buried.
46:29In the neighborhood, thanks to the patrollers' work, life continues late into the night.
46:45While in the capital, the streets empty as soon as night falls, in Bacenas no one thinks of seeking refuge at home.
46:52The shops stay open, and residents even take the time to go for a stroll, free from fear.
46:59The shopkeepers like this grocer, love what the militia is doing.
47:08The shops stay open, the shops stay open, all the delinquents, right?
47:12And the people here feel happy to have the people, not only the shops, but the people in general.
47:18No, the people feel happy when they're all united, there's no problem with this.
47:24But this security is not free of charge. Alan's group demand a contribution from the shopkeepers, around $4 per week.
47:33Some have criticized it for being a form of extortion, but the amount remains roughly ten times lower than the extortion the Maras demand.
47:42It means peace, too. Bacenas' inhabitants should be able to sleep easy for years to come, because new generations of patrollers will continue their work.
47:53At 13 years old, Alan Jr. wants to follow in his father's footsteps.
48:02Do you like to do it? Yes.
48:05Do you have any fear or something that it may happen to you? No.
48:10Something of fear, yes I have.
48:12Do you do it for a long time? Yes.
48:15Do you do it for a long time? Yes.
48:17Do you do it for your father's steps? Yes.
48:19Do you do it for your father's steps? Yes.
48:21While the state struggles to exert authority on its own land, the citizens' militias have gone from strength to strength in Guatemala.
48:30The country will rely on them for many decades to come.
48:34But the Maras are also recruiting aplenty.
48:42Without future prospects in a country where more than one inhabitant out of two lives below the poverty line, many teenagers embrace the gang's Vida Loca.
48:52This life of violence, murders and burglaries within a close-knit group, which acts as a replacement for family.
49:04To meet young gang members, we solicited the help of an intermediary who introduces himself as a convert.
49:11This is the man wearing a hat whom we call Mario.
49:15He has kept close ties with certain members of Barrio Dieciocho.
49:21It is no longer than that.
49:22This is the man wearing a hat.
49:23This is the man wearing a hat on the ground.
49:24This is the man wearing a hat on the ground.
49:25I am now waiting for a moment, but please see him.
49:27Please see him.
49:28It is late now.
49:29It is late.
49:30Yes.
49:31Come on now.
49:32See him.
49:33You can see him.
49:34Here he is.
49:3515 minutes after Mario called, four youths pull up in a customised car.
49:48How do you hear?
49:50That shit doesn't return to the cable.
49:52What are you doing?
49:54Remember that I called you yesterday,
49:56that there is a French friend who wants to know him.
50:00He wants to interview him.
50:05The youths are skeptical,
50:07but after half an hour of negotiations,
50:10Mario manages to convince them.
50:12They agree to drive us to their squad for an interview.
50:18Two girls and four boys,
50:23all around 20 years old,
50:25are in an unimpressive studio at the back of a courtyard.
50:41I'm alive for that vibe,
50:43because we are here,
50:45and I'm alive for that vibe.
50:48These young members of Barrio 18
50:51have dreamed of joining the gang since they were very little.
50:55I also wanted to tell you something,
50:58that you're going to be motivated to die.
51:00You're going to have clothes,
51:02clothing,
51:03money,
51:04you're going to die.
51:05You're going to die.
51:06You're going to die.
51:07You're going alive,
51:08you're going to die.
51:09You're going to die.
51:10All right,
51:11of course,
51:12другие мужic brothers.
51:13You'rechester.
51:14You're going to die to us and indeed buy bugs with bugs.
51:17Yeah,
51:20and they're too rare for bugs.
51:22In a few years,
51:23these youths have risen up the ranks of the gang to the top.
51:27From paras,
51:28mere collaborators,
51:29they have become soldados, or cesarios, hitmen.
51:59The youths, who have chosen to go down the gang route, talk with a sense of fatalism and resignation.
52:29The only thing that matters for these youths today is the Vida Loca.
52:47Friends, beers and rap. To forget about life's troubles.
52:52The Marrero's crazy life usually ends up in prison or in a graveyard. Few emerge from the gang unscathed.
53:05La Limonada is one of the most violent favelas in the capital.
53:09This is the metal and concrete jungle where we have a meeting with a Barrio Dieciocho convert.
53:15Christian is 28 years old and he is paraplegic.
53:28Today he is no longer independent. He lives with his parents and his brother and his nurse.
53:35Christian's Vida Loca ended abruptly one day in July 2010.
53:41As he was robbing a bus, he took a bullet in the spinal column. The gangs ruined his life.
53:48Kier E.
53:50Con linear
53:55Kier E.
53:57reen
54:00Kier E.
54:01Kier E.
54:01Kier E.
54:03Kier E.
54:06Kier E.
54:14Makina
54:16Christian left Barrio 18 after his injury, but he continues the craft which earned him
54:27a reputation in the gang – tattooing.
54:30Some of Christian's clients come and see him for a very particular reason.
54:46They are former gang members who want to hide the distinctive body tattoos they are wearing.
55:16Christian makes the tattoos disappear to erase the Marrero's difficult past.
55:25But he has gone further in his battle against the gangs in the last two years.
55:30Christian, his father Otto and the rest of the family cook every Sunday.
55:37They prepare lunch for 15 or so kids from the neighbourhood.
55:54On today's lunch menu…
56:00With a tasty meal, Otto and Christian offer their children from the neighbourhood a few hours
56:05of respite, far from the violence of the streets.
56:09A little moment of attention and human kindness to show them that you can live and make friends
56:22without belonging to a gang.
56:24All these children that we have here, with one of them, this little boy, the father of
56:34him was with me, I met him.
56:37The father died for years ago, he left him little.
56:40And in a moment, the child approached me and said, I want to be the same as my father.
56:47He wants to be a man, he wants to be a man, he wants to be a man.
56:50He wants to be a man, he wants to be a man, he wants to be a man, he wants to be a man.
57:07Civic initiatives like this one by Christian and his family, together with public efforts
57:13by police and law enforcement seem, little by little, to be bearing fruit.
57:18In Guatemala, the number of homicides has decreased by 12% in one year.