Central America

Guatemala

Guatemala has a developing economy, characterized by wide income disparities. Hotels and other tourist facilities in areas frequented by visitors from the United States are generally good. A peace accord, signed in 1996, ended a 36-year armed conflict. Violent crime, however, is a serious and growing concern due to endemic poverty, an abundance of weapons, a legacy of societal violence, and a dysfunctional judicial system.

SAFETY AND SECURITY: While violent criminal activity has been a problem in Guatemala for years, there has been a substantial increase in criminal violence in 2001, including numerous murders, rapes, and armed assaults against foreigners. The police force is young, inexperienced, and under-funded, and the judicial system is weak, overcrowded, and inefficient. Criminals, armed with an impressive array of weapons, know that there is little chance they will be caught and punished for their crimes. The following recommendations will help residents and visitors alike to increase their safety:

Avoid gatherings of agitated people. Guatemalan citizen frustration with crime and a lack of appropriate judicial remedies has led to violent incidents of vigilantism, including lynchings, especially in more isolated, rural areas. Attempting to intervene puts one at risk of attacks from mobs.

Avoid close contact with children, including taking their photographs, in rural areas with predominantly indigenous populations. Such contact can be viewed with deep alarm, and may provoke panic and violence. Foreign tourists have been attacked and killed by mobs, including a Japanese tourist in the village of Todos Santos in 2000.

CRIME: In recent years, the number of violent crimes reported by U.S. citizens has increased. Since 2001, there has also been a shift in patterns of crime. Well-armed gangs that use massive force routinely shoot up banks and armored cars, with concomitant casualties. Relatively secure areas, such as the main road to Lake Atitlan and the Mayan ruins at Tikal, that in the past were relatively secure are now less safe. Since late 2000, there have been several armed assaults, robberies and rapes of foreigners at the Cerro Cahui and Tikal Parks. Emboldened armed robbers have attacked vehicles on main roads in broad daylight. Travel on rural roads always presents the risk of a criminal roadblock or ambush around the next bend. Widespread narcotics and alien smuggling activities can make remote areas especially dangerous.

General Advice:

Rather than travelling alone, use a reputable tour organization. Stay in groups; travel in a caravan consisting of two or more vehicles, and stick to the main roads. Resist the temptation to stay in budget hotels, which are clearly more susceptible to crime. Travel after dark anywhere in Guatemala is extremely dangerous. Stay in the main tourist destinations. Do not explore back roads or isolated paths near tourist sites. Pay close attention to your surroundings, especially when walking or when driving in the capital, Guatemala City. Refrain from displaying expensive-looking jewelry, large amounts of money, or other valuable items. Finally, do not resist an armed assailant.

Specific advice:

- Climb the Pacaya and Agua volcanoes near Guatemala City only in groups; even so, some groups have been assaulted. Tourists have been targeted by armed robbers while climbing these popular destinations.

- Watch out for pickpockets and purse-snatchers in all major cities and tourist sites, especially the central market and other parts of Zone 1 in Guatemala City. In 2001, criminals have sprayed mustard on their victim's clothes and then attempted to rob them as they "helped" clean up the mess.

- Hotel security is an important concern. The U.S. Embassy does not allow Peace Corps volunteers to stay in hotels in Zone 1 and urges private travelers to avoid lodging in this area.

- Be alert for carjackers. Expensive sport utility vehicles have been targets on open roads, while Japanese sedans and pickups appear to be more at risk in the cities.

Public Transportation:

- Avoid low-priced inter-city buses (recycled U.S. school buses known as "chicken buses"), which are a haven for criminals and susceptible to accidents. Use modern inter-city buses instead.

- Do not hail taxis on the street, but use dispatched taxis or taxis from major hotels.

- Try to avoid local buses in Guatemala City. They are overcrowded and harbor criminals.

Exercise caution on the following roads:

- The main road to Lake Atitlan via the Pan-American Highway (CA-1) and Solola is safer than the alternatives, though periodic episodes of armed attacks have made caravaning highly recommended. Violent attacks have been reported consistently on secondary roads near the lake. There have been several attacks on travelers along CA-1 near the border with El Salvador as well as along the CA-9 (Pacific) road to El Salvador.

- The newly paved road from the capital to the Peten has been the site of armed attacks. Therefore, visitors to the Mayan ruins at Tikal are advised to fly to nearby Flores and then travel by bus or tour van to the site.

Mayan Ruins: Take care in the Mayan ruins and other tourist destinations of Peten. Several violent attacks - shootings, rape, armed robbery - have occurred, including in the Cerro Cahui Conservation Park, Yaxha, the road to and inside Tikal Park, and even in the Tikal ruins themselves. No portion of the Tikal ruins is completely safe, but most criminal activity has taken place in isolated areas away from the "Plaza Mayor." Under no circumstances should tourists visit outlying sections of the ruins, such as Temple VI, where even relatively large groups accompanied by security guards have been the victims of armed assaults.

- Do not travel overland in the rest of Peten Department. It is dangerous and not recommended.

- Stay away from remote areas of the South Coast of Guatemala, which can be dangerous because of alien and narcotics smuggling activities and piracy.

- Finally, exercise caution in the Rio Dulce area of eastern Guatemala. Widespread illegal activities, such as narcotics trafficking, have increased insecurity in this remote area.

MEDICAL FACILITIES: A full range of medical care is available in Guatemala City, but medical care outside the city is limited. Guatemala's public hospitals have experienced serious shortages of basic medicines and equipment. Care in private hospitals is generally adequate for most common illnesses and injuries.

Arthropodborne diseases:

• Malaria
• Chagas disease
• Dengue fever
• Leishmaniasis

We recommend to prevent Arthropodborne diseases:

• Usage of long-sleeved shirt and long pants to wear whenever possible while outside, to prevent illnesses carried by insects
• Usage of insect repellent containing DEET (diethylmethyltoluamide), in 30%–35% strength for adults and 6%–10% for children. Unless you are staying in air-conditioned or well-screened housing
• Usage of a bed net impregnated with the insecticide permethrin.
• Staying and sleeping in air-conditioned houses

Water- and foodborne diseases:

• Hepatitis A
• Amoebiasis
• Brucellosis
• Cholera
• Typhoid fever

Other diseases:

• Hepatitis B
• Rabies

Vaccinations recommended:

• Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG)
• Hepatitis B or Immune Globulin
• Rabies, if you might be exposed to wild or domestic animals through your work or recreation.
• Typhoid vaccination is particularly important because of the presence of S. typhi strains resistant to multiple antibiotics in this region.
• A booster for tetanus/diphtheria - if not covered which indicates not vaccinated within th last 10 years.
• Yellow fever when entering from a yellow fever endemic region

Stay healthy:

• Wash hands often with soap and water.
• Drink only boiled water, or water and carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans
• Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice cubes.
• Eat only thoroughly cooked food or fruits and vegetables you have peeled yourself. Remember: boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it
• Protect yourself from insects by remaining in well-screened areas, using repellents (applied sparingly at 4-hour intervals) and permethrin-impregnated mosquito nets, and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants from dusk through dawn.
• Prevent fungal and parasitic infections, keep feet clean and dry, and do not go barefoot
• Do not travel at night
• Trafic accidents are frequent, be careful
• Always use latex condoms to reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases
• Don’t eat food purchased from street vendors.
• Use chloroquine as malaria prophylaxis below 1500m ( particulary in Departments of Alta Verapaz, Baja, Verapaz, Ixcan, Petén, San Marcos, Departments of Esquintla, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Quiché, Retalhuleu, Suchitepequez and Zacapa. )

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Updated 19-Jul-2003 • İtraveldoctorOnline 2001 • Disclaimer • webmaster

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