World's Most Feared Gang | Guatemala: Meet the Maras | Free Documentary

Guala, a small country in Central America, is one of the

most

violent states on the planet. In the capital city of Guatemala, the homicide rate is 50 times higher than in

most

of Europe. The street

gang

s here called Maras are behind much of this. massacre villan NOA is a disadvantaged neighborhood of the capital the

gang

s rule these dusty alleys after several weeks of negotiations we have managed to infiltrate one of them in an exceptional way under his appearance as a good father Pedro is the local boss of the neighborhood Dio one of the Most violent MERS in the country accused of murder on multiple occasions Pedro has already served several prison sentences, he rules his area with an iron fist and today he has a problem dealing with foreigners Pedro has six men under his command and today he will be tasked by Christian , his youngest lefty, who is still being initiated to collect money from the butcher whose payment is overdue.

Christian can trust his teacher. Solid advice. Pedro knows all the tricks of the trade. We are going to follow Christian in a car with tinted windows as he pays a visit to these favas merchants first he stops the ticket takers clearly Christiana is already well known in the neighborhood without saying a word the merchant puts the money in the bag second stop a another shopkeeper then it's the unpunctual butcher's turn while Christian makes his rounds Pedro is preparing to leave because Pedro is not only the boss of the Deo neighborhood in the area, he also officially has another, much more respectable business that delivers.

Hot lunches that his wife Maria cooks every lunchtime. Pedro walks around the neighborhood to sell his lunches near him. For around $2 each they earn less than $12 a day doing this but more than anything this serves as a cover to avoid the police Pedro takes advantage of his walk through the neighborhood to give us a tour of his Holdings to mark his territory the Gang has covered some walls with graffiti mixing Roman and Arabic numerals each Mara has developed its own system of symbols to distinguish it from its enemies the members of the group unite around this common identity an identity that they proudly display on their bodies by tattooing is highly codified within The GS These leaders of both sides are mostly in prison, some of them have been sentenced to several hundred years in prison, but this does not prevent them from managing their criminal activities from their cells or being responsible for thousands of deaths throughout the country of Guatemala.

It is one of the poorest countries in America located in the north of Central America this small republic of 17 million inhabitants has been led by Jimmy Morales a former television comedian since 2016 the president was elected in an anti-corruption campaign but 3 years after began his mandate Nothing seems to have changed in the country, what is worse. Jimmy Morales himself has been accused of illicit financing of his electoral campaign. Additionally, he recently expelled the UN anti-corruption mission that was investigating his case too closely. Guatemala is relentlessly beset by corruption and violence, the country is even among the most dangerous nations on the planet.

More than 4,000 murders were recorded in 2018, which is proportionally 20 times more than in most European countries. barbaric crimes. Murders sometimes in the middle of the street. Behind these murders are the gangs. violent gangs that terrorize the country's population two main gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha and the Dio neighborhood, are fighting to the bitter end they control entire neighborhoods they handle drug trafficking, prostitution and extortion these gangs are often made up of three members young people who shoot mercilessly after weeks of negotiations we have managed to infiltrate their

world

the Gualan police are poorly equipped to combat these gangs so the richest take refuge in ultra-safe neighborhoods protected by armed guards the poorest have decided to take justice by their own means His hand forming militias in the heart of the most dangerous faas in Guatemala we see every day the portrait of a society subjected to the law of the gangs in the fava of Villanua all the merchants face extortion under the wrath of Pedro the boss of baro in the neighborhood where christian has returned his left tenant on his weekly round it is time to add up the numbers in total he has raised 900 ketals a little more than $110 us the money is distributed in very specific proportions of the $110 raised christian stays With $10 Pedro 20 and the rest $80 goes to extort the gang leaders.

It is a blessing for the Marte. It has become their main commercial asset ahead of drugs and prostitution. The number of extortions increased by 15%. last year a fire that mainly hits the poorest who have no means to protect themselves Pedro however almost saw himself as a social worker before taking over bario jioo in this industry, Pedro spent 20 years rising through the ranks of gangs as the fourth child of a poor family of 13 people, he left the countryside at a very young age to move to the capital in search of a better life Mario Deo took him in as soon as he arrived in Guatemala City um within the neighborhood Dio you need commit at least 18 murders to claim the title Cesario or Hitman ped doesn't seem to show any remorse in front of our camera and while he may be a father of four children he never backs down from a contract, if Pedro refuses to obey the gang will execute to Ed, an impossible situation that Maria has been dealing with for 8 years, because at 32 years old Pedro is already a close Miracle Survivor in The Gangs, it is rare for members to live beyond the age of 25.

These gangs that enslaved the people of the country were born in the United States while the United States was in the grip of the Civil War during the 70s and 80s, many Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans fled. to the US these illegal and often idol youth took refuge in gangs at the height of their power in California, but when the wars in Central America came to an end in the mid-1990s, the US administration decided to expel all of them. criminals and illegal immigrants. Returning home, bringing with them the practices and attitudes of the La Street gang, they reestablished themselves in their respective countries and formed the almighty Mars.

Since then, the Guatemalan authorities have struggled to contain the violence. In 2018, the country suffered 3,881 homicides, the justice system and The police are overwhelmed by the phenomenon in V Lobos, one of the favas of Guatemala, a small bunker has been built in the Central Station at the entrance to the neighborhood. Here, 54 police officers alternate night and day shifts to guarantee the safety of 75,000 inhabitants. The men live, They sleep and work in these poor conditions in three equipped containers. Marco Antonio has been in office for six years. The police pay a high price for the fight against gangs.

Last year, 78 of them died, which is proportionally 25 times more than in the majority. of European countries to compensate for the risk of the industry is quite well paid $615 us per month almost double the average salary but with this salary the police have to pay for part of their equipment at the end of the month the police station yard becomes at an arms market this ex-soldier turned weapons seller offers to the police when everything the administration does not provide them the Guatemalan police lack everything, even the most vital equipment as the patrol prepares to go on a mission just a man is fully equipped only a bulletproof vest which the men wear in shifts but In addition, only one light machine gun among the 54 men When it comes to vehicles, this 4x4 has been waiting to be repaired for 2 years, which means that the police station only has one car to carry out patrols.

Today Inspector Carlos, the head of the police station, is in charge. the shooter is only 14 years old as is usually the case here the bad guys are very young inspector Kalos has just received confirmation of his address he lives in an area nicknamed laa right in the heart of the FAA an extremely run down area controlled by barium guys who The house is a half-collapsed corrugated iron hut. People undoubtedly live here. They are still washing and drying. The police remain alert. The young man with the gun seems to have left the house. The inspector follows him and takes advantage of this visit to Lisa to search the area.

Faced with the violence of the Mara, many of the inhabitants have abandoned the neighborhood, leaving their houses behind. Sometimes these houses serve as places of executions. A few meters away, Inspector Caros enters an abandoned house. The police have nicknamed it the House of Horror. 6 months it was on the front page news remains but the savagery of the mara did not end here there is another scene of terror in the next room is this the members of marioo left a clear warning about this war betraying the gang has a very high price the The young woman's murderers have not yet been found.

The young gunman also seems to have eluded the police. Inspector Callos is optimistic, but in Guatemala 95% of homicides are never clarified and the gangs continue to cause death and destruction in the country in the cemetery of funeral festival the processions continue to arrive day after day. LS the gravedigger has a front row seat in the somber procession. 25 burials a day and most of the victims Lou buries are barely of age. There are dozens of youthful faces on the tombstones in the middle of the road. this man gathering his thoughts in front of this grave has lost his four children they were less than 25 years old before like his three brothers Walter was a member of the jioo neighborhood the same Mara that Pedro is a part of these gangs are responsible for more than 2,500 deaths by year in Guatemala, if the majority of the victims are members of rival gangs, others are ordinary citizens who refuse to give in to extortion.

Bus drivers are one of the most exposed professions. Oscar is a bus driver in the capital and has been transporting passengers from Florida. neighborhood to the central market for 12 years and like every morning he gets behind the wheel full of fear if driving a bus is a fairly safe job in most of the countries of Guatemala it is one of the most dangerous Oscar never takes his eye off the rearview mirrors in Guatemala the news usually begins with the murder of a bus driver last year 250 drivers and transport employees were shot dead by a gang The hitman Oscar almost ended up on the long list of victims four years ago he was attacked when He returned to the warehouse from 11 body shots in total.

Miraculously, Oscar survived after only a week in the hospital, but not all of his colleagues were so lucky. The gangs rob bus companies when the buses are on the road and when the companies try to oppose them. The gangs do not hesitate to kill their drivers. Oscar was shot because his boss had refused to pay one of these gangs. Well, Delis runs this company which currently has 14 buses. She took over the business when her husband was killed for refusing to give in to the gang's blackmail. To save the driver's life, the delis pay in cash and play the same game every month because on the afternoon of the end of Oscar's day he returns to his little house in the poor area of ​​Guatemala and as soon as he crosses the door his wife Lupita and his daughters finally They can breathe but without any training it is unlikely that Oscar will find another job so he continues to risk his life every day for $390 a month the average salary in Guatemala given the level of violence in the country and the increasingly impotence of public authorities.

Citizens choose to carry a firearm in the heart of the capital, on Avenue 3, from 1 to 45, no more than a dozen stores welcome buyers all day long, protected. Behind these metal bars, these salespeople sell semi-automatic weapons, as well as automatic action shotguns and even assault rifles. This man has come to buy a gift in Guatemala. Gun sales have increased 20% in one year. There are young, old and workers on the sidewalk just yards from the store where everyone is lining up at the gun control director's office to get a gun permit and the criteria for obtaining one have been relaxed, to say the least, thanks to the flexibilities of the legislation.

Almost one Gualan in 30 carries a pistol or rifle for protection, but some residents go further and choose to arm themselves. themselves but the most important thing is to form civil militias to fight against the gangs the basa neighborhood is in the south of Guatemala every day in the municipal stadium Allan makes the decisions on this grass, he is a professional referee and directs the local championship, But as soon as he steps on the line and cleans his boots, Allan retrieves his companion Inseparable a 9 mm at the Pitch site or in his car. This 34-year-old father never lets it leave his side.

Allan has taken advantage of this passion for weapons. For almost 15 years to fight the gangs that are cracking down on the capital in his neighborhood, this father of four is the head of a citizen militia. Before the gangs targeted Bas, but since the neighbors mobilized, the gangs almost never venture into the neighborhood for Hanah Alen's wife, this is a relief, Ellen. She goes out on patrol every night to ensurethe streets so that the children can play safely in the neighborhood twice a week he takes two of his sons Alan Jor, 13 years old, and Yurick, 15 years old, with him a gun with a super battery on his belt, a balaclava or masks to avoid retaliation from the Maras go out to carry out a 4-hour night patrol at 9:00 p.m.

Allan and his children

meet

a dozen neighbors some of them are merchants other employees the youngest are still going to school some of the patrol cars are equipped with a firearm the public authorities turn a blind eye to these citizen militias and according to Allan all members of the group who carry weapons or rifles have a weapons permit for those who do not have a license, the money or are not old enough to carry a firearm, the patrol makes do with what is available , machetes, baseball bats or golf clubs after 5 minutes. patrolling as they approach the main square of the Primera Alerta neighborhood after a thorough search the patrol ends up finding some cannabis it is illegal in Guatemala after having confiscated it Ellen sends the three young people home half an hourhour later the patrol returns to question someone plus two young men smoking joints shoot each other without making a sound Allen's men

meet

with another group of patrolmen they have installed a checkpoint at the entrance to the fava you have to identify yourself to enter the bases at night The citizen militia has established five checkpoints control like this to control access to the neighborhood.

The strategy seems to have borne fruit as insecurity has decreased significantly for BNA residents, but sometimes the gang still manages to carry out raids. Last July, three men attacked a delivery truck. on 6th Street, resulting in three victims a CCTV camera filmed the scene during the attack one of the attackers sent a message to Alan's militia the group has already paid a high price for fighting the gangs in the last 3 years five patrolmen have been killed by Mars these images taken in a cemetery show militia men firing bursts in tribute to one of their own the day he was buried in the neighborhood thanks to the patrol car work life continues until late at night while in the capital the streets become empty as they advance.

As soon as night falls, no one thinks about seeking shelter at home, shops remain open and residents even take the time to take a walk without fear. Traders like this love what militias do, but this security doesn't come for

free

. Allen's group requires merchants to contribute about $4 a week. Some have criticized it for being a form of extortion, but the amount is still approximately 10 times less than the extortion demanded by the gangs, which means there is also peace. The inhabitants of Basa should be able to sleep peacefully for years. to come because new new generations of patrollers will continue their work at 13 years old Alan Jr wants to follow in his father's footsteps while the state fights to exercise authority in its own land the citizen militias have gone from strength to strength in Guatemala the country will depend on them for many decades, but the gangs are also recruiting a large number of people without future prospects in a country where more than one in every two inhabitants lives below the poverty line.

Many teenagers adopt a life of violence, murder and robbery in the interior. a close-knit group that acts as a substitute for family to meet young gang members we enlist the help of an intermediary who presents himself as a convert this is the man in the hat we call Mario has maintained close ties with certain bar members 15 minutes later that cold Mario four young people stop in a personalized car the young people are skeptical but after half an hour of negotiations Mario manages to convince them to agree to take us to their squat house for an interview two girls and four boys around 20 years old The old people They are in an unimpressive studio at the back of a courtyard.

These young Marioo members have dreamed of joining the gang since they were very little. In a few years, these young men have risen through the ranks of the gang to the top from mere collaborators. They have become golden soldiers. The young people who have chosen to follow the gang route speak with fatalism and resignation. The only thing that matters to these young people today are their friends. I saw beers and rap to forget about life's problems. gangsters The crazy life usually ends in prison or in a cemetery few leave the gang unscathed Lemonade is one of the most violent gangs in the capital this is the jungle of metal and concrete where we have an encounter with a convert from the barium jioo Christian has 28 years old and a paraplegic, today he is no longer independent, he lives with his parents and his brother and his nurse, Christian's vidaloka ended abruptly one day in July 2010 while he was stealing a bus, he was shot in the spine.

The gangs ruined his life. Christian left the Dio neighborhood after his injury, but continues with the tattooing trade that earned him a reputation in the gang. Some of Christian's clients come to see him for a very particular reason: they are former gang members who want to hide the distinctive tattoos on their bodies. Christian makes the tattoos disappear to erase the maro's difficult past but has gone further in his battle against the gangs in the last two years Christian, his father Otto and the rest of the family cook every Sunday they prepare lunch for about 15 children from the neighborhood today lunch menu with a delicious meal Otto and Christian offer their children from the neighborhood a few hours of respite away from the violins in the streets a small moment of attention and human kindness to show them that it is possible to live and make friends without belonging to a gang Civic initiatives like this one by Christian and his family along with public efforts by the police and law enforcement seem to be slowly bearing fruit in Guatemala the number of homicides has decreased by 12% in one year