Guatemala News

On Wednesday Gen. Douglas Fraser said: The efforts of the Marines here in Guatemala are to help provide a more persistent detection and monitoring capability for a key arrival zone for maritime traffic in the Pacific, which is the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Once we find information, we will pass that through JIATF-South to the Guatemalan armed forces, the Guatemalan law enforcement and authorities, and they will then take care of the intercepts.

The Marines are deployed as part of Operation Martillo, an effort to intercept drug traffickers in planes and boats.

Some news media report there are 170 marines in Guatemala others suddenly use the figure of 200. We do not believe any of the main stream media reports, both national and international. The real number of marines, special ops or hired mercenaries by the US in Guatemala is not a public figure.

To clarify the legal situation of foreign troops in Guatemala: There has been no public discussion at the Guatemalan National Congress to allow the presence of foreign military forces in Guatemala. Guatemala’s Congress is the only legal institution that has the power to approve the presence of foreign military on our soil.

This is sounding just like Vietnam, remember? Déjà vu all over again. First you have “military advisors”, then you have “military trainers”, then you have boots on the ground and a full scaled war.

Fox news reported in 2010: America's Third War: U.S. Secretly Trains Guatemalan Forces

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/14/americas-war-secretly-trains-guatemalan-forces/

We are not proud, we are very concerned.

InSight Crime published the following analysis on August 29, 2012: …….“Based on recent events in Central America, US Marines will likely do their best to avoid becoming involved in any kind of open conflict with drug traffickers. The involvement of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials in a May 11 joint operation in Ahuas, Honduras that killed four suspected drug traffickers -- one of whom was a pregnant woman, another a 14-year old male -- resulted in widespread condemnation of US counternarcotics operations in the region. In light of this, the US will try and remain in their operational role as a surveillance outfit, leaving gun battles to their Guatemalan counterparts.”………

They also report: ……“The United States has sent some 170 Marines to Guatemala as part of its ongoing efforts to crackdown on drug trafficking in the region,…” http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/3114-marines-deployed-guatemala-zetas

Why use the wording: “some 170 marines”? We ask: what is the exact number?

We don’t want US military presence in Guatemala. We have extensively published against the illegal, ineffective and bloody war on drugs since 2008.

Guatemala’s President General Otto Pérez is not to be trusted; the new government that started on January 2012 is already deeply involved in corruption and crime. And do not forget Otto Pérez and his army friend’s history in military intelligence during the civil war in Guatemala, when they used to work hand in hand with the CIA. It can be assumed they still work together; it is a logical assumption, a marriage of convenience.

President Obama and the US military industrial complex are not to be trusted either; we haven’t seen a promise yet that they can keep. The scandals of corruption, assassination of civilians, torture, extraordinary rendition, etc. in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries with US military presence just keep on coming.

Bottom Line: It is not about the drugs, it is about the money.

See articles of The Guardian, Bloomberg about Big International Financial Institutions benefiting from laundering money, US included.

Just 6 days ago: Bloomberg. HSBC in Settlement Talks With U.S. Over Money Laundering.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-24/hsbc-in-settlement-talks-with-u-s-over-money-laundering.html

How a big US bank laundered billions from Mexico's murderous drug gangs. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs

Western banks 'reaping billions from Colombian cocaine trade'. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/02/western-banks-colombian-cocaine-trade

Global banks are the financial services wing of the drug cartels

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/21/drug-cartels-banks-hsbc-money-laundering

etc., etc., etc.

There is a saying: you can fool many people for a long time but you can not fool everybody all the time.

We ask our readers: are you a fool or do you use your brain, it is your choice.

Picture. Ignacio de Wit, Aliens, Guatemala