In the first eight months of this year, seizures by security forces exceeded the 2,423 recorded in 2024 by three percent, the outlet reported based on the Platform for the Communication of Statistical Data on Criminal Incidence (Pladeic). The departments with the highest seizures are the country’s capital city, Escuintla, Jutiapa, Peten, and Izabal.

Security analyst Mario Polanco described the results as positive because “they are expected to have an impact on the control of gangs that are greatly affecting the country.”

In the departments with the highest seizures, “there is more drug trafficking and contraband,” the expert described, as quoted by Diario de CentroAmerica.

Regarding the rise in homicides reported in previous months, security and justice analyst Sandino Asturias explained that this situation was due to multiple factors, but the greatest was the “privilege granted to private firearms businesses.”

He noted that in this Central American territory, 500,000 people legally possess these types of weapons, and a similar number remain unregistered.

State policies should be aimed at disarming the population, Asturias estimated, while affirming that another issue is the continued high level of impunity when it comes to investigating and prosecuting these types of crimes.

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