Caribbean & Central America - February 2008 (ISSN 1741-4458)

As well as the administrative chaos inherited from the previous administration (see p?), a further headache for President Álvaro Colom in his first month of power has been the security situation. As well as criticisms levelled against his 100-day security plan, a recent wave of violence targeting bus drivers has led Colom to blame the acts on organised crime and attempts at destabilising his government.

With over 3,000 people arrested and 340 police officials fired, accused of various crimes, critics have accused Colom of adopting measures designed to have a high media impact, rather than tackling the root of the security problem - especially given that many of those arrested were subsequently released.

The security situation took a turn for the worse early this month, with 14 bus drivers murdered, mainly in the country's capital, Guatemala City. This wave of violence led to bus drivers going on strike on 7 February, demanding better security and that the perpetrators of the killings be brought to justice.

While bus drivers have frequently been the targets of gangs in Guatemala, murdered when they refuse to hand over "protection payments", the recent spate of killings left Colom vulnerable to accusations that he was unable to adequately address the security problem. This situation enabled legislators to approve an initiative effectively restoring the death penalty (see sidebar).

Colom in turn claimed that the killings were the result of organised crime and attempts to destabilise his government, an argument which gained weight after the recently-established international commission against impunity in Guatemala (Cicig) agreed to investigate.

As well as requesting assistance from Cicig, Colom also announced that over 1000 police agents will be sent to help with security in the capital. However, as with the strategy of issuing multiple arrests and purging the police, critics such as Helen Mack of human rights NGO Myrna Mack Foundation have questioned this strategy. Mack argues that the solution lies not in increasing the size of the police force, but in improving law enforcement efforts. This is especially true, she says, given that one of the factors fomenting the lack of safety for drivers and for the public at large is the lack of coordination between the public prosecutors' office and police.

• Death penalty restored

While President Álvaro Colom is against the death penalty, an initiative proposed by the rightwing Partido Patriota was approved by congress, granting the head of state the power to bestow a last-minute reprieve on prisoners facing the death penalty. This removed the last obstacle preventing Guatemala from reintroducing the death penalty. Capital punishment was never abolished, but it had been suspended since 2002 because of a legal dispute over who should have the final word regarding the fate of prisoners on death row.