Turmoil in Guatemala! Part 2

A few days after the killings of bus drivers and their helpers, a banner was hung from an overpass in San Cristobal close to where the killings took place. The banner supposedly was hung during the night by a prominent drug cartel family or group of families. The banner had the following strong message to local criminals and gangs: "we would like to inform the residents of San Cristobal that the united cartels will rid this place of rats. Delinquents, extortionists, or kidnappers who are caught will be decapitated"! Many people living here applauded the message and were supportive, because the government has not been able to do anything to stem the violence. This response is rather disturbing, but at the same time people live in such fear that they are willing to "support" criminals who might deal with part of the problem. Drug cartels consist of dangerous criminals who also commit terrible acts of violence. Having said that, in Guatemala City it is a fact that neighborhoods controlled by drug dealers and cartels tend to be much safer than ones controlled by gangs (MS13, 18th Street). Most drug dealers do not like to attract attention to themselves or their neighborhoods. Drug dealers often deal with local criminals in their own quiet way to avoid the presence of police in their neighborhoods. However, in other parts of the country mass murders have occurred as rival cartels try to establish control and take over territory from others. Over the past 10 years, thousands of people have been killed by drug cartels and gang violence.