Smuggling In Guatemala: Recent Numbers And Perspective In The Future

Guatemala is strategically positioned in Central America, with access to the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific, and it also has land borders with Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras; a little more than two hours from airports in the United States. The most frequent crime in seaports is customs fraud, while the common practice in coasts and borders, which have been called "porous", is open smuggling and illegal trafficking of goods in adjacent areas, which occurs unhindered in the "blind paths".

These crimes create unfair competition to those who legally import goods, they affect the national security of the State, increase the tax gap and generate violence and impunity.

The indexes of smuggled goods entering Guatemala have alarmingly increased in the last years. According to studies presented in recent days, 2019 has been a record year on this regard.