The rise in homicides in Escuintla reflects the overall increase in homicides across Guatemala in 2013.
(Courtesy of Prensa Libre) InSight Crime Analysis (See breakdown in Prensa Libre's graphic below) The province currently has 17 investigators and 1,027 police officers serving a population of more than 731,300 inhabitants. Overall Guatemala's homicide rate was 34 per 100,000 people in 2012.Īccording to Escuintla's chief investigator, Jorge Cuja, homicides and extortion are the department's two most commonly reported crimes. If violence continues at the current rate, Escuintla is on track to end the year with a homicide rate of 93 per 100,000 residents. According to statistics collected by the National Institute for Forensic Sciences (INACIF), the province's 2013 homicide total has already passed the 2012 total of 553. The coastal province of Escuintla has become Guatemala's most violent, as criminal groups battle for control over this strategic territory, which includes an important port, access to the capital and an infamous prison.Įscuintla, a southern province on the Pacific coast, had 565 homicides recorded as of the end of October, giving it a homicide rate of 77 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest in the country, reported Prensa Libre.