Election time in Guatemala


Drug traffickers flush with money see this year’s elections as a new way to extend their power.


Would you vote for this man?

In towns along Guatemala’s drug corridor between El Salvador and Mexico, drug traffickers flush with money see this year’s elections as a new way to extend their power.

According to officials and analysts, drug traffickers are supporting candidates ranging from national lawmakers to first timers in politics, particularly for mayorships in eastern districts close to El Salvador and Honduras.

Partly as a result, some 50 people have already been killed in the run-up to the September 9 election for president, Congress and mayors across the country.

Gaining political control over towns in key smuggling areas would allow drug gangs more easily to transport Colombian cocaine through Guatemala to Mexico on its way to the United States.

And we all know how tough it is to transport Coke through Mexico?

Posted: Mon - July 9, 2007 at 07:07 AM