(Prensa Latina) The National Institute of Forensic Sciences in Guatemala (Inacif) has reported a figure of 1,374 deaths due to violence in the first quarter of the year.
If the trend continues, Inacif warns that by December, Guatemala may reach a higher number of homicides than the 5,718 homicides recorded by the end of 2015.
The report by Inacif denies the alleged reduction in violence announced by the Directorate General of the National Police of Guatemala and the President Jimmy Morales.
According to a report presented by the Directorate General of the National Police, in the second week of March, criminal violence declined to eight percent compared to 2015, leading the country’s president to express his satisfaction.
Almost immediately after the statistics were released however, several urban buses were attacked, as well as local business, and other violent events put a question mark over his assertions.
The US Department of State even issued an alert, urging all American citizens in Guatemala to refrain from traveling to certain regions, particularly in the western department of San Marcos, due to the increase of drug-related violence.
