Guatemala City buying blow

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Guatemala City buying blow

I flew into Guatemala City groggy and frustrated. My flight had been delayed over and over and over again, and slowly, my hopes of spending the night planning and preparing for Guatemala disintegrated. Instead of arriving early with plenty of time to sort out an agenda of sorts for the following days, the plane landed in Guatemala City just before midnight. You can skip these next few paragraphs to get to actually useful information because sometimes I accidentally become a storyteller. The airport was practically desolate. I had no phone, no Guatemalan currency, and no idea where my accommodation was. The place I booked had a free airport shuttle, but my phone decided to break halfway through the flight. Determined not to get ripped off by a taxi for what was supposed to be a 2-minute drive, I tried to improvise. I traded in 10 USD for the criminally unfair 50 quetzales from an exchange window because none of the ATMs were working. I asked the lone woman working at the information desk to look up my lodging and get the phone number. Next, I went outside looking for someone whose phone I could borrow. Hmm, let me try the old Guatemalan woman in traditional garb. She handed me a Trac-fone that had to have been literally the first cell phone ever made. I dialed both numbers. Neither worked. I guess that 4 could be a 9. I dialed both numbers again, substituting 9s for 4s and so on. I handed the phone back to her. She looked through the call log and charged me 5Q for each call. All 8. I haggled it down to 20Q total and dejectedly made my way back to the taxi drivers who I scoffed at earlier. After that overly complex ordeal, I was glad to be able to rest. Not this one. She was a jackrabbit on cocaine and kept me up forever to sort things out for me tomorrow. I was supposed to go to Lanquin to meet a friend, but the idea of a hour bus ride did not sit well with me after the trials and tribulations I had just gone through. Neither did the fact that it was well past midnight and I would need to wake up at 5 AM to catch the bus. Well, to catch a taxi to go to a hotel that offers a shuttle to get you to a nearby city that actually had a bus that went to Lanquin on that day. I assumed there was no way the receptionist could sort things out in time for me to go so I went to bed, exhausted and without a care in the world. I woke up a bit later at an appropriate time, and not wanting to spend much more time in GC, I asked the jackrabbit to get me a shuttle to Antigua. Okay, wow. That was a lot of exposition, but now you know the ordeal that led me unintentionally to Antigua. I did know that Antigua was a great spot for backpackers. Almost everyone that had been to Guatemala suggested that I go there. However, I was not expecting it to become my favorite city in all of Central America. Antigua is the place to be if you are willing to take it slow and chill, but want the option to do something exciting every now and then. I had less than two weeks in Guatemala total, and I would have gladly spent all of it in Antigua. I pretty much did save for a few days that I spent on Lago de Atitlan , another one of my all-time favorite places I have ever been. I could live in Antigua, taking every other weekend or so off to go spend at the lake. That would be the life. Antigua offers it all. Culture, adventure, hiking, food, nightlife, history, and much more. For backpackers, some of the more popular hostels are Tropicana , Three Monkeys, and Matiox. I stayed at all three at some point, and they were all pretty good. Tropicana is a hardcore party hostel, and I could only survive one night there before switching over to a different one to get some rest and relaxation before my Acatenango Trek. Matiox is peace and quiet for the weary traveler. I stayed there the night after my annoying travel ordeals in Guatemala City and ended up staying there and doing nothing for another three days in their cozy little pods. It definitely would not have been a bad place to rest, if I had made smart decisions. It was a good mix of relaxed, social, and beautiful. The Acatenango Trek is one of the hardest and most challenging hikes I have ever done. It is an overnight trek where you hike for 18 kilometers up to altitudes of almost 4, meters and camp on the inactive volcano Acatenango. The real fireworks come at night when you get to watch the nearby Volcan Fuego erupt and light up the night sky. It is tough, but also an incredible experience. I booked my tour with Tropicana Hostel for about Q which included our guide, transportation, meals, and an assortment of warm clothing you could rent. It stormed on my Pacaya hike and I was miserable, but the rare glimpses I got of the beautiful scenery were worth it, I guess. Hope for better weather on yours. To get a stunning view of the city, you can hike up to Cerro de la Cruz. You can take a taxi there as well. You can sleep there and it also has a restaurant. It is a beautiful place to chill for a day. For things to do in the actual city, you have an abundance of markets, historical buildings, and beautiful calles. My first few nights in Antigua were confusing since I was not sure where to go and let myself slip into full relax mode. It was my fourth day in Guatemala before I actually cracked open my first beer. Despite this, Antigua was one of the places where I had the most fun in all of Central America. Drinking at a hostel is always a good way to get nights going for backpackers. Get to Tropicana if you are in dire need of getting your night jumpstarted. I enjoyed staying at the quieter hostels, but sometimes you just need to get in the zone. If you need a hype boost or want to meet some fun people, then go to Tropicana. From there, let the night take you wherever. Antigua does actually have a decent amount of bars and clubs with unique personalities. Lucky Rabbit is a big open space with a big dance floor for the general public and then a smaller dance floor to the side with an electronic DJ to cater to that crowd. They also have a ping pong table which is dope. There are dozens of bars, restaurants, and clubs in Antigua. It could easily be one of the best party towns in Latin America, but…. The sad part is most of them close at around 1AM at the latest. When we found this out, we wandered around until like maybe 5 AM trying to squeeze everything out of what started off as such a fun night. Apparently they call it that because only gringos and tourists eat that late in Antigua. It was a pretty lame Friday night in hindsight, but that gave me energy for what would be an insane Saturday night. I wrote an entire blog post on it so you can read about it there. Let me tell ya, it is one strangely incredible night out. Returning to Antigua after the Acatenango Trek made me feel like a champion. I could have easily spent a week relaxing in Antigua to reward myself. As a backpacker, Antigua was the closest in all of Latin America that I came to volunteering at a hostel. I could have seen myself spending weeks there and never running out of things to do. Even if you want to leave, Antigua can help you out. Lake Atitlan is just a few hours away and is like a vacation during your vacation. Antigua is a stress-free and chill town that offers a lot of excitement for those looking for it. I ended up writing a lot more than I expected, but thanks for reading! Make sure to follow me on Instagram to party all over the world with me! If this post helped you out, show some love and support for the blog and help keep my adventures going by buying me a beer! My adventures are entirely self-funded, so any show of support is greatly appreciated, and allows me to keep writing helpful travel guides and creating travel content to help you all travel the world on a budget. Sounds like you had an amazing time… Over than the airport drama haha! I love long airport layovers and most often, I tend to oven over research things that can be done while stuck for ungodly long hours inside the airport. Yhat said, I hate it when a flight gets delayed no matter the cause. The market scenes are wonderful, and so full of colour too. Hope I get to see it one day. Culture, adventure, hiking, food, nightlife, history, and so much more. Hiking destination in Antigua would make my feet so happ, since hiking is my favorite kind of adventure. Truly, this is comprehensive guide with useful tips and on what to see and enjoy here. This seems like a great place to visit. I like the colors, the culture and the food. This sounds great. I am thinking of travelling Around Antigua and other places around for a month It expensive roughly how much take for a month. This looks like a super interesting place for me Guatemala. I was not exposed much from this culture and your post has given me an insight about the culture and people who live there. What an interesting write up. Wait, so you travel, party AND backpack?! And super impressed you backpacked Guatemala. Guatemala would be such an amazing adventure to take! That trek sounds super hard but an amazing experience. Antigua really does sound like a fascinating place to visit. How did you manage a hike after that night?! Props to you. I have heard so many amazing great things about Antigua and nows its moved up higher on my must see list. I love nature but not really good at hiking and this place sound like a perfect place to helpme improve in hiking. It is indeed a lovely place to explore, Such great captures I must say that and your description is lovely and the people looks really good. I like that you showcased some of the hostels that would be great for backpackers. There are some nice places to see when you travel to Guatemala. Awww Guatemala. I have to visit it one day. I speak spanish so I suppose it will be easier for me to visit it. I have never been to Guatemala but now after seeing your post I need to visit! Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive. Type your email…. Continue reading. Skip to content. View this post on Instagram. Share this: Twitter. Like this: Like Loading Glad you had a great time after such a rough start! Antigua looks beautiful!! I plan everything even layovers so I want everything on schedule. Haha Loading Truly, this is comprehensive guide with useful tips and on what to see and enjoy here Loading I am thinking of travelling Around Antigua and other places around for a month It expensive roughly how much take for a month Loading Definitely a world apart, a simple and colorful rural reality in which to dive! I have always waned to go back packing and this for sure has inspired me. Such a beautiful place Loading I have heard so many amazing great things about Antigua and nows its moved up higher on my must see list Loading Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Discover more from The Partying Traveler Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive. Type your email… Subscribe. Loading Comments Email Required Name Required Website.

Guatemala Cocaine Abuse Problem

Guatemala City buying blow

View all posts. From October 30 to November 5, , I traveled to Guatemala to interview experts in the defense and security sectors about transnational organized crime and the work of the Guatemalan government to confront the challenge. Narco-trafficking, urban street gangs, and a web of hidden influences continue to cast a shadow over the country. But despite the struggles and public perceptions, Guatemala is making impressive progress against criminality, corruption and dysfunctional institutions. Because of its geographic proximity to the U. Moreover, it has also invested heavily in partnering with the U. References to Guatemala in the U. At the same time, Guatemala has also made significant progress against high-level corruption and strengthened key public institutions and processes. The statistics are impressive. From a high-point of 46 murders per , inhabitants in , Guatemala ended with a rate of Similarly, serious crimes fell to 97 per , inhabitants in , and may finish at With respect to violent street gangs, Guatemala has always been less affected than neighboring El Salvador and Honduras. In contrast to neighboring El Salvador, in Guatemala the two gangs are mostly limited to marginal neighborhoods on the outskirts of the capital, such as Villanueva and Mixto. Guatemala is a key transit country for narcotic trafficking, human trafficking and contraband. Approximately 80 percent of drugs traveling from South America for the U. As in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, the elimination of high-profile narco-traffickers in recent years has fragmented the drug smuggling business in Guatemala. By one estimate, there are 54 distinct groups in the country, most focused on transporting drugs through the national territory under contract to, or to sell to, Mexican cartels such as Sinaloa. Similarly, of the four Lorenzana brothers, one continues to be active, transporting drugs along western routes. While Guatemala has been used to temporarily warehouse north-bound drugs, it has generally been free of laboratories for transforming intermediate products into cocaine. However, heroine poppies are grown in the poor, mountainous department of San Marcos, financed by local, largely indigenous families, and transformed domestically into an intermediate product that is transported to the border and sold to Mexican narco-traffickers. Prior to , the Department of San Marcos, and to a lesser degree, El Progreso, were the site of methamphetamine labs, but such activities have been curtailed thanks to stricter regulation of precursor chemicals, in combination with coordination by the Guatemalan government through the United Nations with the Chinese government the principal source of precursor chemicals regarding commercial shipments of relevant chemicals bound for Guatemala. In addition to drugs, Guatemala is also a transit country for migrants, including not only those from Latin America, but also from the PRC and other locations. Unfortunately, because the government lacks agreements with many of these countries regarding the treatment of undocumented immigrants, as well as resources to deport them, after recording information about them, Guatemalan authorities free them to continue their journey through Mexico. The capability of the Guatemalan government to address challenges such as street gangs and narco-traffickers, in conjunction with partners such as the U. Even combined, though, the effectiveness of the two countries efforts has still been hampered by serious shortcomings in resources and institutions. Since , working in conjunction with U. The Guatemalan national police PNC has also taken significant steps forward, expanding in size to 35, members with plans to grow by a further 6, The PNC has also expanded screening of recruits and confidence testing mechanisms such as polygraphs amongst members. To improve the professionalization of the police, it has also established clearer standards for internal promotion. This has included increased educational requirements and establishing a year-long undergraduate police sciences program and associated masters degrees. A key element in the fight against organized criminal groups is attacking their finances and financial activities. The organization also shares data and best practices with financial intelligence organizations in other countries through the Edgemont Group—which includes non-Central American governments—the international association of financial oversight organizations of which the IVE has been a member for more than a decade. The Guatemalan armed forces also support the fight against organized crime, yet in a more limited fashion than many other countries in the region. Although the armed forces served as a pillar of Guatemalan society before and during the civil war, that role has been progressively reduced in recent years, with the peace accords limiting their budget to a mere. Despite a relatively successful track record, as noted previously, because of a commitment to remove the military from public security functions, the current administration is working to replace these units with regular police, pulling reservists out of 21 urban neighborhoods during the past year alone, and seeking to phase out the organization entirely, possibly before the end of Beyond the squadrons, the military is also supporting anti-crime efforts through the contribution of forces to territorially-oriented, multi-agency task forces under the command of the police, including Tecun-Uman on the border with Mexico in the departments of San Marcos and Huehuetenango, and Chorti on the border with Honduras. The task forces are also being supported by the United States, including the provision of vehicles such as armored prototype Jeep CJ-8s and other forms of support. While these task forces have participated in a number of important counter-drug operations, they are widely perceived in the country as ineffective, in part because they often operate in support of other units, or based on intelligence from other entities such as the 5 th counternarcotics directorate of the interior ministry. In addition, in part to insulate the task forces from corrupt local police units, the task forces do not enjoy the benefits of contributions from the rest of the national police infrastructure. Nonetheless, funding for the military in recent years has been so limited that such new brigades lack the special equipment that would allow them to provide effective coverage of the jungle and mountainous territory for which they are responsible. That strategy involves employing a larger ship specially outfitted to refuel and resupply the smaller boats to extend their time on station. Guatemala is also advancing in controlling its airspace, but it still faces significant challenges. The small Guatemalan Air Force presently consists of helicopters and aircraft seized from criminals, including a Beechcraft outfitted with U. The country has acquired three radars and receives radar feeds from the U. However, it currently lacks, but is working toward, the ability to integrate these radars into a common air picture for command and control purposes. Guatemala is also completing an agreement with the Canadian government to establish a joint operations center, which will further contribute to its command and control capabilities. Finally, the government is employing a number of elite forces to go after the leadership of transnational criminal organizations and other high value targets in the country. While the small amount of news about Guatemala in the mainstream U. That success reflects thoughtful initiatives of both the current and previous Guatemalan governments. Although not prominent in the news, there are arguably few countries in the region that demonstrate the level of commitment to working with the U. It is important for the U. Security Cooperation Office in Guatemala, among others. However, the views expressed in this work, and any errors, are strictly his own. The economic platforms of both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris present challenges for Latin America, with differing implications depending on the country and the sector. The struggle against organized crime in Guatemala. The fight against narcotics trafficking and violence in Guatemala is daunting. Evan Ellis. Building the state In addition to drugs, Guatemala is also a transit country for migrants, including not only those from Latin America, but also from the PRC and other locations. Prev Previous. Next Next. More Commentary. Milei is taking Argentina down a path of radical economic change. Will his gamble pay off? Scroll to Top.

Guatemala City buying blow