Event: Seminar on Criminal Organizations and Illicit Trafficking in Guatemala – Nov. 3

Criminal Organizations and Illicit Trafficking within Guatemala’s Border Communities

Thursday, November 3, 2011, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
The Wilson Center, fifth floor conference room
1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW (Federal Triangle Metro)
Washington, DC

Hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Latin American Program and CNA’s Center for Strategic Studies

In Guatemala, Mexican drug cartels and local criminal organizations combine with dysfunctional and corrupt government and security agencies to form a pernicious security crisis for the country and the region. According to some estimates, up to half of the nation’s territory is under the control of criminal organizations that thrive on the traffic in drugs, human beings, weapons, and various forms of contraband. This “ungoverned” quality applies especially to the regions along Guatemala’s 1,000 miles of borders. What are the relations between criminal organizations and the populations and institutions of border communities? How are various forms of illegal trafficking affecting these communities? What policies or programs would be most effective for establishing a state presence there?

To discuss these issues and others, we will be joined by a distinguished panel of experts, including the authors of a new CNA study on the effects of criminal organizations and illicit trafficking on Guatemala’s border communities:

• Ralph Espach, Director, Latin American Affairs, CNA Center for Strategic Studies
• Christopher Ashe, Action Officer, Central American Regional Security Initiative, U.S. Department of State
• Julie López, journalist and expert on Guatemalan criminal organizations
• Werner Ovalle, Coordinator, Central American Border Security Program (SEFRO), System for Central American Integration (SICA)

Please click here to RSVP, or email acceptances only to lap@wilsoncenter.org.