# NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY ----- **NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY OF GUATEMALA** **GOVERNMENT OF GUATEMALA** 1. National Security Policy 2. Democratic Security 3. Civil Defense 4. Human Development ISBN 978-9929-52-001-1 Technical Secretariat for the National Security Council Guatemala City, Guatemala Title page and interior design: Ambush Map: Guatemalan Foreign Ministry Printing: Mayaprin Partial or complete reproduction of this document is permitted, provided they do not affect copyright and publishing. The complete or partial use of this document is encouraged for study, research, or design of public policies, with the appropriate bibliographic source reference. ----- # NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY ### GUATEMALA CITY, JULY 2012 #### Today we have in our hands the opportunity to build a different future. ##### OTTO PÉREZ MOLINA ----- ###### NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL Otto Fernando Pérez Molina **President** Ingrid Roxana Baldetti Elías **Vice President** Harold Caballeros López **Foreign Minister** Héctor Mauricio López Bonilla **Minister of the Interior** Ulises Noé Anzueto Girón **Defense Minister** José María Argueta Cifuentes **Secretary of State for Strategic Intelligence** Larry Mark Robles Guibert **Attorney General** Edgar Ricardo Bustamante Figueroa **Coordinator, Technical Secretariat for the National Security Council** ----- ###### ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS United Nations Development Program United States Government Policy and Strategy Directorate, Technical Secretariat for the National Security Council National Institute for Strategic Security Studies General Inspectorate for the National Security System Advising and Planning Commission for the National Security Council Security Advisory Council Academic Institutions Political Institutions Non-governmental Security Organizations Research Centers ----- _“We must not forget the past, but we can overcome it._ _I dream that my generation may be the last of war and_ _the first of peace in Guatemala.”_ ###### FOREWORD The National Security Policy seeks to build the conditions for people to feel safe, free from violence and fear, and confident in achieving their individual and collective aspirations. It is also designed to integrate efforts across the country in a common purpose: to achieve comprehensive development, strengthen democracy, and overcome social inequality - to build a “Secure and Prosperous _Guatemala.”_ The success of this policy demands that the Government and its citizens work together to contain, confront, and neutralize the threats and risks that insecurity and violence generate, overcoming the structural and social causes that they engender, through the legal and institutional framework and with full respect for human rights. It is essential for the people to regain confidence in the State and to improve coordination between its institutions to generate the required capabilities and to diminish the causes that bring about insecurity and violence, which reside in the social fabric. Only a democratic government has the legitimacy to do this, in concert with an efficient security system that produces the necessary competencies to confront this challenge. This policy establishes the Government’s commitment with the people of Guatemala, of making the National Security System comply with its institutional mandate under its transformational motto: “If we all do well what we have to do, we will improve security.” This means that Guatemala will transform its security system to the highest levels of effective and efficient public administration, based on consistent decisions and actions. The implementation of the policy will be developed in three successive phases. In the first phase, new methodologies will be adapted to achieve efficiency in the new model of administration. This effort will be concentrated in coordinating national institutions to take maximum advantage of existing capabilities. The most modern management techniques will be incorporated to maximize transparency mechanisms in public accounts for the restructuring of decisionmaking processes and allocation of resources, with the goal of optimizing institutional management. ----- Throughout this first period, projects for the second phase will be planned and executed, in which significant investment in modernization, technology, and professionalization will be made in the Security System, risk management and civil defense, and national defense. The goal is effectiveness in the most complex preventive and reactive tasks, which permit the execution of far-reaching operational strategies, with a lower simultaneous response time in critical areas of the national territory. The third phase will be focused on the transformation of the institutional culture of Security System organizations, with the goal of ensuring the effectiveness of the change process through collaboration, cooperation, and coordination to exercise command and control; taking advantage of communications and information technology, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, in order to harmonize the National Security Policy, National Strategic Security Agenda, and the National Strategic Security Plan. This focus should produce successive results achieving qualitative and quantitative increments in which security indicators reflect improvements in the quality of life, associated with the development of productive capabilities and ensuring the self-sustainability of the transformation process. In order to make this possible, the Government must work comprehensively to guarantee two basic requirements: The first is the development and strengthening of government institutions responsible for the analysis, decision-making, implementation, supervision, and evaluation that foster governance and maintain the processes of change toward security objectives. The second is maintaining a regional security environment that offers international cooperation conditions with internal change efforts from Guatemala. The preceding will be based on the construction of mutual confidence measures which have regional security cooperation agreements as a platform, particularly in the development of Central American Security Strategy objectives. The previous factors are determined by resistance to changes, particularly within the government itself. The effort to overcome this resistance will demand the exercise of strategic leadership, centralized in the Presidency to ensure the alignment of political priorities with the goals and plans of all government sectors. Likewise, program actions that must be carried out by the Government’s ministries and institutions in their areas of responsibility will be guided by measurable results and impacts. There are eight transformational axes that cover the socio-human, politicaleconomic, environment, energy, geostrategic, technology, food, and intelligence aspects, which define the change process objective – a secure and prosperous The transformational axes will focus attention on the security problem that the country faces, by means of five strategic guidelines: 1. Institutionalization of the National Security System, whose fundamental objective is to develop and strengthen the institutions themselves. The purpose is to transform and generate better public services, provide coverage over the entire national territory, increase the presence of authority, and recover control of critical areas with actions that ensure the distribution of resources and linkage with the purposes outlined in the socio-human and political-economic transformational axes. 2 Democratic national security is meant to ensure the protection of life, and the full exercise of liberty, justice, security, peace, property, and self-development. This will develop relevant actions in the fields of social and situational prevention, with emphasis on the formulation and implementation of programs in priority areas, such as secure spaces in the home, neighborhoods, cities, and borders; secure mobility to develop employment and personal activities in the streets, highways, public transportation; group agreements with young people, women, indigenous people, and labor unions; countering the trafficking of drugs, persons, arms, munitions, explosives, and contraband, among others. Also the control of violence and crime, as well as comprehensive care of victims, and institution building, so that people can improve their living conditions. 3 The objective of external security is to maintain sovereignty and territorial integrity and to contribute to the maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security, while creating an environment that enables the achievement of national interests. 4 The objective of proactive risk management and civil defense is to regulate the use of critical national resources and to create effective mechanisms to prevent, mitigate, and respond to the country’s vulnerabilities that are due to natural disasters and human-caused damages. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage land management that will guide socio-economic processes and the orderly occupation of space according to the potential land use and resources from different regions of the country. 5 State Strategic Intelligence gives the State a national intelligence system that, besides providing current and structural analysis, can anticipate, prevent, contain, and deal with different risks, threats, and vulnerabilities that may affect the quality of life and that provide the essential elements for executive decision-making. During the entire process, the Government’s strategic communications will present the latest developments of indicators to all national segments with transparency and precision. These results will demonstrate how security adds value and competition to goods and services, while presenting these achieve-i ----- Humanitarian assistance and international cooperation have contributed to decreasing the basic needs of the population, without overcoming existing structural scourges, which limit Guatemala’s overall development. It is vital to rely on all resources to carry out the intended strategic guidelines. Therefore, the country should courageously face its weaknesses with its own resources. The success of the National Security Policy will depend entirely on us, on our will, and firm willingness to transform the Security System to achieve a Safe _and Prosperous Guatemala._ **Otto Fernando Pérez Molina** **President of the Republic of Guatemala** ###### CONTENTS **FOREWORD................................................................................................................................................................... vi** **INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................................................1** **CHAPTER I. GUIDING PRINCIPLES............................................................................................. 5** Respect for the rule of law..................................................................................................................................... 5 Observance of Human Rights............................................................................................................................... 6 Gender inclusion...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Respect for cultural diversity............................................................................................................................... 6 Institutional integration........................................................................................................................................ 7 Community involvement....................................................................................................................................... 7 Transparency and accountability........................................................................................................................ 7 Results-based management.................................................................................................................................. 8 **CHAPTER II. LEGAL FRAMEWORK............................................................................................. 9** Constitutional........................................................................................................................................................... 9 Institutional.............................................................................................................................................................. 10 **CHAPTER III. CONCEPTUALIZATION AND METHODOLOGY............................................. 13** Conceptualization................................................................................................................................................... 13 Methodology............................................................................................................................................................. 14 **CAPÍTULO IV. STRATEGIC CHARACTERIZATION................................................................. 17** Security environment............................................................................................................................................ 18 Security context....................................................................................................................................................... 19 Challenges facing the state...................................................................................................................................22 Legal reforms............................................................................................................................................................22 Strategic leadership................................................................................................................................................22 Preventing and combating corruption..............................................................................................................22 Reducing crime rates.............................................................................................................................................22 Control of air, sea, and land spaces....................................................................................................................22 National identity.....................................................................................................................................................22 Control of arms, ammunition, and explosives................................................................................................22 **CHAPTER V. TRANSFORMATIONAL AXES AND STRATEGIC GUIDELINES................... 25** Transformational axes........................................................................................................................................... 25 Socio-Human........................................................................................................................................................... 25 Political-Economic................................................................................................................................................. 25 Environment............................................................................................................................................................. 26 Energy......................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Geoestrategic............................................................................................................................................................ 26 Technology................................................................................................................................................................ 27 Food............................................................................................................................................................................. 27 Intelligence............................................................................................................................................................... 28 Strategic guidelines................................................................................................................................................ 28 Strategic guideline: Institutionalization of the National Security System............................................ 28 Strategic guideline: Democratic Homeland Security................................................................................... 30 Strategic guideline: Foreign Security................................................................................................................ 32 Strategic guideline: Proactive risk management and Civil Defense........................................................ 34 ----- **CHAPTER VI. CHANGE MANAGEMENT, ASSESSMENT PROCESS,** **AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION.................................................................................................. 37** INTRODUCTION Change management......................................................................................................................................37 Evaluation process..........................................................................................................................................38 Social communication...................................................................................................................................39 The National Security Policy, presented by the National Security Council, establi **BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................................41** shes the guidelines that define the courses of action to prevent and counter the **GLOSSARY...............................................................................................................................45** risks and threats against the vulnerabilities of society and its institutions. It includes those challenges outlined in the Threats and Risks Agenda collected from the inputs of various workshops with individual experts and representatives from civil society organizations that are concerned with security. It comprehensively addresses national security as one of the priority tasks of the current government. The first actions are borne out in various National Agreements and Government Plans; efforts that have generated a favorable perception concerning the intervention of public forces to fight common and organized crime. However, insecurity continues to affect various parts of the country; therefore, it is fundamental to approach the criminal phenomenon in a comprehensive manner as one of the current government’s priority tasks. Among the threats that directly and negatively affect the patrimony of Guatemalans include extortion, kidnapping, and the theft of vehicles, homes, businesses, and cell phones. Those that affect life are femicide, assassination, murder, kidnapping, narcotrafficking, and terrorism. Those that undermine democratic institutionality include illicit drug activity, trafficking of persons, arms, munitions, explosives, and contraband. Additionally, risks and vulnerabilities appear, such as governability, social unrest, institutional fragility, porous borders, as well as natural, social, and technological disasters, and pandemics, epidemics, and endemic diseases. The National Security Policy is the answer from the National Security Council to satisfy the demand from Guatemalan citizens, to live in liberty, peace, justice, security, and development, by promoting a climate of national and international investment and contributing to sustainable development. This brings about the achievement of international standards[1] and norms concerning the prevention and control of crime, justice, and other appropriate instruments from the formulation and evaluation process established in the National Security System’s Framework Law. Considering the complex, multi-factorial, and multidimensional character of the criminal phenomenon, the National Security Policy constitutes the framework for the coordination of effort between the central and municipal government institutions, because that is where the various institutional efforts should materialize, through the participation of Government Departments, City Councils, Urban and Rural Development Councils, the private sector, centers of higher learning, and social communications media. 1 Guatemala Report, Security –18 (Informe Guatemala, Seguridad-18). The PNC has a total of 24,225 active agents, which ----- The National Security Policy fulfills mutually complementary institutional functions. Their development defines the structure and interrelation of its component elements. The first institutional function provides the security conditions that people want by identifying the risks, threats, vulnerabilities, and challenges to confront along with the Government’s integrated actions, in order to achieve the strategic objectives within the minimum timeframe and at the lowest cost. This function will be addressed by identifying the security objectives needed to develop the respective program actions required in order to generate measurable effects in the transformational axes, which conform to the guiding principles of Government actions, within the legal framework, to achieve the purposes presented in the strategic narrative written by the President. The second institutional function establishes the trajectory and reach of joint Government actions and identifies desired effects and established limits, so that each institution can recognize the assigned tasks required to accomplish its mission, with the clear vision that accomplishing these tasks effectively and efficiently contributes to the general purpose of the National Security System. The National Security Policy directs the formulation and compliments itself through the National Security Strategic Agenda and the National Security Strategic Plan, in accordance with the Framework Law for the National Security System. The third institutional function builds the bases for the harmonious functioning of all the components of the National Security System, through the State’s legal, administrative, and budgetary framework, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the formulation and planning processes and sector management strategies, with respect to their responsibilities in simultaneously contributing to the achievement of security and sustainable national development. The National Security Policy establishes throughout its text the rules for resultsoriented, comprehensive security management, by assigning the foundations for the continuous evaluation of efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness of program actions. It consists of six chapters. Each of them describes the subject and the necessary actions to develop the guidelines to resolve the issues considered. It begins with the definition of the Guiding Principles of a general nature for the institutions that make up the National Security System; a Legal Framework that begins with respect for the Guatemalan Constitution, the specific laws of each institution, agreements and decrees relative to their functioning, as well as rules and international agreements in the security arena. In the conceptualization and methodology, the former states the concepts utilized and defined in the Framework Law for the National Security System, while the latter explains the methodological framework employed to produce the policy, while taking into consideration the proposals developed beforehand in discussions and participation in methodological workshops and seminars. The Strategic Characterization describes the international environment and the national context in which it highlights the regional security concept changes, integration of blocs, the political instability of the region, and transnational organized crime, as well as the prevailing crime rate in the country, all of which can identify the threats, risks, vulnerabilities, and challenges. The above provides the elements that define the Transformational Axes, the Strategic Guidelines, and the Program Objectives that will lead to its development. The efficient Management of Change and Evaluation Processes include the systemization and monitoring of security indicators, results-based management, and the supervision and evaluation of short, medium, and long term actions. Finally, they expand specific information regarding regulatory reference elements. As a whole, this policy is the proposal that the National Security Council offers to the nation to confront security threats, risks, vulnerabilities, and challenges. ----- ## CHAPTER I. GUIDING PRINCIPLES Principles are the pillars that govern the National Security Policy. They are derived directly from the Guatemalan Constitution, the Framework Law for the National Security System, and current regulations and doctrine. They serve as a guide for implementation and for that reason they are of a general and national nature. #### RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW Guatemala is governed by a system of laws and institutions contained in the Constitution, which organizes and sets limits on the government, besides guaranteeing the rights of individuals. This politico-juridical organization is the legal framework where the obligations of the State rest and the power of the Rule of Law, to which all its inhabitants are subject.[2] They are elements that define the Rule of Law as the instrument that guides the behavior of rulers and those ruled in a democracy. Transparency, predictability, and generality are implicit in it. This allows human interactions, prevention, the effective, efficient, and peaceful resolution of conflicts, and it supports sustainable development and social peace. The law must be a principal management instrument of the Government; the law guiding human behavior and state agencies must respect the constitutional principle of separation of powers and they must consistently interpret and apply it within the legal system, by accepting the supremacy of the Constitution and the State’s responsibility to its citizens for its acts. The State justifies the reason for its existence in the protection of the individual and the family, through the recognition, respect, and protection of the rights and freedoms inherent to human dignity and strengthening the functioning of governing bodies. In this sense, the Attorney General’s Office has special relevance, in its advisory and counseling role to State agencies and entities, through the Attorney General, as the representative of the State and the Head of the Attorney General’s Office.[3] 2 College of Law and Social Sciences. School of Graduate Studies. Problems of the rule of law in Guatemala. Journal of Doctorate in Law seminar. USAC. Guatemala, November 2009, page 17. ----- #### OBSERVANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS Human rights constitute the reason that the Rule of Law exists, that they are observed and distinguished as interdependent, indivisible rights and are inherent to all human beings, regardless of nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other condition. The State of Guatemala recognizes the International Law on Human Rights, which determines the obligations of governments to take action in certain situations, or refrain from acting in certain ways in others, in order to promote and protect human rights and the fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.[4] The National Security Policy is based on the above statements, which serve as a framework for the full respect for human rights in the constitutional principles that underpin and promote these rights and in the current legal-political order. This implies that the rights and freedoms recognized by the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala must be respected in the achievement of national security strategic objectives and guidelines, as well as the democratic form of government and international treaties and agreements regarding human rights that have been accepted and ratified by Guatemala. #### GENDER INCLUSION Within the framework of national security the State is committed to promoting gender equality and inclusiveness in the country. In this regard, that principle is established in the formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the different sectors’ security policies, with emphasis on reducing the levels of domestic violence and femicide, as a result of increasing violent actions against women during the last few years. #### RESPECT FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY Guatemala is a country known for its cultural diversity, which is manifested by the presence of various ethnic groups, which are distinguished by their way of life, traditions, customs, and beliefs. These characteristics are the reason for the focus on security programs from a community level approach to a local one. Considering all these aspects, the National Security Policy recognizes, respects, and assumes responsibility for ensuring their development and coexistence according to their particular worldview,[5] within the Rule of Law, as a single multi-ethnic, multicultural, and multilingual nation. 4 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). 5 It is a worldview that permeates man’s spiritual life and serves as a guiding framework for individual #### INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRATION The Framework Law for the National Security System establishes four functional domains: Internal Security, External Security, State Intelligence, and Risk Management and Civil Defense. However, as a whole these distinct areas make up the general framework of National Security and therefore, to avoid piecemeal approaches that may hinder interagency coordination, the National Security Policy develops a comprehensive strategic vision. The National Security Policy contains the strategic objectives and guidelines for each of the National Security System functional domains, seeking harmonization, coherence, and complementarity for the efficient use of available resources and to avoid the predominance of partial and insufficient strategic visions, as well as duplication of effort. The Technical Secretariat for the National Security Council, as the focal point for the coordination of National Security Council institutions, will ensure that the strategic vision is integrated into the National Security Policy. #### COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT The National Security Policy requires the involvement and commitment of all citizens and stakeholders to carry out programs, plans, and activities. The solution for existing problems in these areas is not possible with only the effort from responsible state institutions; it demands citizen involvement, particularly in the domains of internal security and risk management and civil defense. The objectives and specific criteria for this citizen involvement will be defined by the responsible institutions, according to their respective area of performance in corresponding sectoral policies. #### TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY Public confidence in National Security System institutions is strengthened through the promotion of transparency and accountability, which also have significant effects on the levels of effectiveness and efficiency of actions for the benefit of citizens. Each institution in the National Security System will guarantee and implement access to information, through their respective units of access to public information and in compliance with applicable law, for the purpose of transparency and accountability in the execution of their policies, plans, and programs, among others. ----- #### RESULTS-BASED MANAGEMENT This is based on strategic planning, which considers the priorities of security and justice institutions. This is done by identifying and prioritizing objectives and actions as a methodological support activity in achieving performance indicators, which are focused on meeting the strategic guidelines defined in the National Security Policy at a given time. Institutional effectiveness is focused on the formal and continuous evaluation of processes and support services, compliance with institutional objectives, and the management of results obtained for continuous improvement. This will only be achieved to the extent that officials take responsibility for the results of their administration, and when institutions fulfill the purposes for which they were created and meet the objectives established in this Policy for the benefit of the population. The above will provide for the management and evaluation of the actions of state organizations to meet the demands of society. ## CHAPTER II. LEGAL FRAMEWORK #### CONSTITUTIONAL The State of Guatemala was founded as a legal and political entity, governed by the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala. Its structure consists of the following elements: sovereignty, territory, government, citizenry, and the legal system. This legal system determines the use of power for the maintenance of State security and the defense of its territory. The President of the Republic of Guatemala has the constitutional mandate to provide for the defense and security of the nation, as well as the preservation of public order,[6] which in certain circumstances requires the restriction of the guarantees that the Constitution provides. In this case, it must assure the inhabitants of the country that only those legal measures that are strictly necessary will be applied.[7] The Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala establishes the maintenance of independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Guatemala as national interests, as well as the peace and external security of the country through the preservation and strengthening of international relations. These represent the country’s vital interests, the achievement of which guarantees the freedom, well-being, and security of its citizens and the Guatemalan State itself. Likewise, the State of Guatemala is organized to protect the individual and the family, with the duty to provide the inhabitants of the Republic, life, liberty, justice, security, peace, and comprehensive personal development.[8] The threats, risks and vulnerabilities facing national security may or may not vary over time, depending on the trends and development experienced specifically in the strategic environment. In contrast, national interests in security matters are stable and durable; they tend to remain over time. 6 Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala. Chapter II. Article 183. Executive Agency, Section One, items b, c, d. 7 Ibid. Chapter IV. Limitation of constitutional rights. Article 138. “It is the obligation of the State and its authorities to maintain the inhabitants of the nation in the full enjoyment of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. However, in case of invasion, serious disturbance of the peace, activities against the security of the State, or public calamity, it shall be able to terminate the full exercise of said rights, which are referred to in Articles 5, 6, 9, 26, 33, and the first paragraph of Article 35, second paragraph of Article 38, and second paragraph of Article 116.” ----- #### INSTITUTIONAL Within the institutional framework, the Policy corresponds to the principles and rules contained in the Framework Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America, the fulfillment of the Peace Accords, and international instruments ratified by Guatemala. The Framework Agreement is based on the supremacy of civilian authority, a reasonable balance of forces, the security of individuals and their property, overcoming poverty and extreme poverty, promoting sustainable development, protecting the environment and patrimony, and eradicating violence, corruption, impunity, terrorism, and drug and arms trafficking. Democratic security is based on democracy, the strengthening of its institutions, and the Rule of Law; in the existence of governments elected by universal, free and secret ballot; and in the unconditional respect of all human rights in those States that comprise the Central American region. Its reason for being is the respect, promotion, and protection of all human rights, so that its provisions will ensure the safety of the Central American States and its people, by creating the conditions that will allow for their personal, familial, and social development in peace, freedom, and democracy. The implementation of the National Security System is given by Decree 18-2008, Framework Law for the National Security System, by the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala. The system consists of: a) the Presidency of the Republic, b) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, c) the Ministry of the Interior; d) the Ministry of National Defense, e) the Attorney General’s Office, f) the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction; g) the Secretariat of State for Strategic Intelligence and h) the Secretariat of Administrative Affairs and Security for the Presidency of the Republic.[9] The purpose of the National Security System is the strengthening of State institutions, risk prevention, control of threats, and reduction of vulnerabilities that prevent the State from achieving its goals. These activities are intended to contribute to the security and defense of the nation, the protection of human beings and the common good, and to establish the responsibilities of the component entities of the National Security System, as well as regulating interagency relationships, based their areas of competence.[10] The functional domains of the National Security System are: 1. Internal Security proactively and directly confronts the set of risks and threats originating from common and organized crime. 2. External Security deals with Guatemala’s independence and sovereignty, territorial integrity, peace, and the preservation and strengthening of international relations. 3. Risk Management and Civil Defense develops and implements policies for the prevention, preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery from events of a natural, social, and technological order that could affect the population; and 4. State Intelligence, articulates the information and intelligence on internal and external threats, risks, and vulnerabilities in the three areas mentioned above.[12] The coordination for the National Security System is under the responsibility of its political body; the National Security Council; which defines policies and strategies and advises the President of Guatemala in making decisions on security matters. The Council is comprised of the following dignitaries and officials: a) the President, who makes the decisions; b) the Vice President; c) the Minister of Foreign Affairs; d) the Minister of the Interior; e) the Minister of National Defense; f) the Secretary of State for Strategic Intelligence; and g) the Attorney General. The principal functions of the National Security Council are: to coordinate and supervise the operation of the institutions responsible for security; to define and approve the National Strategic Agenda, the National Security Strategic Plan, and the National Security Policy; to be aware of and advise on matters of strategic importance for the country’s security; to define the specific policies and strategies concerning external security, internal security, and intelligence; to promote the updating of the regulatory and institutional framework applicable to security activities; and to form a crisis committee during national emergencies; as well as other functions. In order for the National Security Council to fulfill its functions effectively and efficiently, the Framework Law for the National Security System provides support agencies: the Technical Secretariat for the National Security Council, the Advisory and Planning Commission, the National Institute for Strategic Security Studies, and the General Inspectorate for the National Security System. Besides creating various support agencies for the operation of the National Security Council, the Framework Law also identified and determined the development of several working tools or instruments for the Council: a) the Risk and Threat Agenda, b) the National Security Policy, c) the Strategic Security Agenda, and d) the Strategic Security Plan. The objectives of the National Security System are: a) to bring coherence and Besides creating various support agencies for the operation of the National coordination to the functioning of political institutions, regulations, and con- Security Council, the Framework Law also identified and determined the trols in security matters within the framework of the Rule of Law, b) to establish development of several working tools or instruments for the Council: a) the Risk an institutional top level in security matters to coordinate among institutions and Threat Agenda, b) the National Security Policy, c) the Strategic Security and to integrate and direct public policies in these matters, and c) to be the ins- Agenda, and d) the Strategic Security Plan. trument through which the State faces any security challenges that may arise.[11] These four tools are part of the process that the National Security Council 9 Framework Law of the National Security System, Decree 18-2008, Chapter III, Article 7. utilizes to articulate the components of the National Security System. 10 Ibid, Chapter III, Section 4. ----- ## CHAPTER III. CONCEPTUALIZATION AND METHODOLOGY #### CONCEPTUALIZATION National Security is closely linked to the Democratic Security model. In this regard, the final paragraph of the Framework Law for the National Security System stipulates that: “... it is particularly important that the National Security System be based on the principles and rules contained in the Framework Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America, to make it feasible to fulfill the commitments made in the Peace Accords, the Framework Law for the Peace Accords, and the international instruments ratified by Guatemala.” For this reason, in order to facilitate an understanding of the design process and formulation of the National Security Policy, some definitions and concepts are referenced, which in the estimation of the Technical Secretariat for the National Security Council, are important to unify criteria related to National Security. **National Security includes a set of principles, policies, objectives, strategies,** procedures, agencies, functions, and responsibilities of the components of the State in security matters, to ensure national independence, sovereignty, integrity, and the fundamental rights of the populace that are established in the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, which consolidate peace, development, justice, and respect for human rights.[13] **Democratic Security is state action that guarantees the respect, promotion,** and guardianship of security, while fully exercising human rights through the creation of conditions that allow individuals their personal, familial, and social development in peace, freedom, and democracy, in accordance with the provisions of the Framework Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America.[14] **National Security Policy is the set of guidelines that define the courses of** action designed to prevent and counter the risks and threats that may arise due to the vulnerability of society and its institutions. It shall be approved by the National Security Council. It is intended to guarantee those preventive or reactive actions that the State should take to ensure the achievement of national interests against any threat, aggression, or situation which by its very nature poses a risk to the safety of the people or to the Democratic State.[15] 13 Framework Law of the the National Security System, Decree 18-2008, Chapter II, Definitions. Section 2, subsection a. 14 Ibid, Chapter II. Definitions. Article 2, paragraph b.6. Ibid, Articles 1 and 2. ----- **National Objectives are the interests and aspirations that the State of Gua-** temala must satisfy and guarantee; the needs contained in the principles of the Constitution of the Republic. **Threats are intentional phenomena generated by the power of another State** or by non-state actors, characterized by the integration of hostile and deliberate capability and intent that seriously threatens to violate another country’s national interests and objectives, in part or throughout the entire country, and that questions the existence of that same State. **Risks are obstacles to National Security that, even though they are not a threat,** imply an internal or external condition generated by political, economic, or social situations or non-state actors, as well as by natural or man-made disasters, or pandemics, whose presence could endanger national development. These are offset by the implementation of public policies to prevent them from becoming a threat. **Vulnerabilities are the exposure of harmful conditions facing the State’s** security institutions, which jeopardize the effectiveness of security programs. Among these are corruption, administrative and operational deficiencies, involvement in illicit activities, little security presence throughout the national territory, limited budgets, lack of job security, and low wages. #### METHODOLOGY The design and development of the National Security Policy begins with the National Security Council’s requirement to develop the Risks and Threats Agenda for the Secretariat of State for Strategic Intelligence, which affects National Security. Based on this Agenda, the Technical Secretariat presents the draft of the National Security Policy that was given out to the different academic, social, business, political, religious and municipal sectors of Guatemalan society for their input. To this end, a methodological proposal and roadmap of the National Security Policy development process was developed. It was based primarily on the criteria and standards that have effectively guided the construction of similar instruments in other countries, as well as considering any existing best practices for interagency formulation and discussion of national security issues. Because of their importance, the following activities should be highlighted: 1. From the beginning, the process depended upon the approval of the National Security Council and the political leadership’s commitment of support. 2 The “Technical Committee for National Security Policy” was formed and it was supported by representatives from the System’s institutions for discussion and decision-making in relation to the implementation of the National Security Policy draft and its respective roadmap. 3 Active participation of citizens in the formulation of the draft National Security Policy was encouraged. 4 Inputs on security issues were collected from individual experts and representatives from civil society organizations. 5 Discussion seminars on methodological processes, problem analysis, and goal setting were conducted. 6 Discussion workshops on National Security Policy were held at the sectoral and national level. 7 The National Security Policy proposals developed in 2008 and 2010 were considered. The Technical Secretariat was tasked with coordinating ongoing interagency efforts for the design, analysis, discussion, and integration of the inputs from National Security institutions and the various participating sectors. The National Security Policy depends on social and institutional support bases to help make it a permanent instrument to benefit national security. The correlation between the Transformational Axes and Strategic Guidelines was established through an analytical model developed through the participation of representatives from government ministries and secretariats, advised by experts and scholars. This allowed for the diagramming of the relationships between the multiple and concurrent causes and consequences of insecurity. This impacts diagram allowed them to clearly identify the major areas of government action necessary to confront Guatemala’s structure of insecurity. Each of these areas corresponds to the strategic guidelines, each one focused on a Security Objective. This same methodology ensures logical consistency and mutual complementarity between the National Security Policy, the National Security Strategic Agenda, and the National Security Strategic Plan through an array of results indicators. Its formulation was developed through critical reviews from a rough draft coordinated by the Technical Secretariat for the National Security Council. In this five-month continuous work process, the participation of the members of the National Security System increased the internal consistency of the document, while the links of shared responsibility of all members were completed with the desired result: Achieving a Safe and Prosperous Guatemala. ----- ## CHAPTER IV. STRATEGIC CHARACTERIZATION This is based primarily on Guatemala’s geographical position in relation to drug producing countries and consuming countries, their access to both oceans provides opportunities for development, but for that same reason it is vulnerable to tropical storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. It shares proximity to Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. For methodological purposes the security environment is addressed first, which covers the global, continental, and regional levels and then following with the internal context. **GEOGRAPHIC AREA OF THE** **REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA** **Caribbean Sea** **BELICE** Unresolved territorial and maritime dispute. Border with Mexico: Herrera Mariscal Treaty, 27 September 1882 Guatemala-Mexico Protocol on how to draw the dividing line. 14 September 1883 in Mexico. **HONDURAS** Border with Honduras: **GUATEMALA** Treaty arbitrated in Washington, D.C. 16 July 1930, and Supplementary Convention **EL SALVADOR** Border with El Salvador: Salazar-Morales Treaty on territorial limits between Guatemala and El Salvador, 9 April 1938. Source: Based on data provided by the General Directorate of International Boundaries and Water, Guatemalan Ministry of ----- #### SECURITY ENVIRONMENT This is related to the world order that left behind the bipolarity of international politics with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which considered the United States as the hegemon. International relations and their respective security agendas were reconfigured, occurring simultaneously with the globalization process that allowed the weakening of State sovereignty and the strengthening of criminal organizations on the one hand, while on the other hand generating economic crises that influenced State security systems. In addition, due to the draw-down of military forces, it created the conditions for the emergence of ethno-religious conflicts in several world regions. The terrorist attacks of September 2001 reshaped international relations policies and security agendas, which prioritized terrorism as a threat to state security. In this regard, the international security agenda is complemented by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime,[16] trafficking in small arms, ammunition and explosives, human trafficking, and the existence of internal conflicts by exploiting strategic resources, which in some regions of the world demands the intervention of the international community. The influence of multinational companies and major players operating in the global financial markets are able to alter government policies, strengthen or weaken territorial equilibriums, and intervene in areas that have not yet been contemplated, while the prices of basic goods unbalance the economies of countries, particularly those with high levels of poverty. It is assumed, then, that sources of risk and potential threats to which a response is required are many and varied. These range from conflicts between States, to international terrorism in its various forms, cyber attacks, as well as energy, economic, environmental, immigration, political, religious, and social factors, among others. At the continental level, State security must be approached in a multidimensional fashion, which is known as the hemispheric security concept.[17] A new security concept[18] like this encompasses the military, diplomatic, international cooperation, and economic resource aspects, as well as disaster management or the consequences of globalization. Thus, the security of a country is not independent of other countries or regions. This is one of the major effects of globalization, which has increased the interdependence and mutual cooperation between actors and countries. Regionally, Central America is going through one of the most difficult times in its recent history. Violence has increased, particularly against women, caused 16 Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime “The Globalization of Crime,” 2010. 17 Organization of American States, “Declaration on Security in the Americas”, Special Conference on Security, Mexico, 27 and 28 October 2003. by the actions of violent youth gangs, organized crime, and more specifically drug trafficking activities. Also, institutionalized corruption and impunity oblige governments to use resources destined for development to combat and reduce their pernicious effects. According to the 2010 World Bank report, the number of violent deaths related to drug trafficking totals around 16,666, among men and women. Additionally, fighting drug trafficking and other collateral criminal activities costs the region about 8% of GDP. Adding to the violence in the region are unresolved border issues, disputes over strategic resources in shared areas, especially water and hydrocarbons, and alliances derived from exclusionary pacts or agreements that affect the integrationist spirit. These problems pose potential regional conflict scenarios that could hinder the search for new models to combat drug trafficking and other threats in the region.[19] Efforts to neutralize organized crime in Mexico and Colombia increased the levels of violence in the region, which led to the creation of the Central American Security Strategy for the Central American Integration System. This includes the core themes of fighting crime, crime prevention, reintegration and rehabilitation, institution building, and the creation of the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). #### SECURITY CONTEXT The security context in Guatemala is directly related to its geographical location, the low presence of state institutions across the country, the porosity of its land borders, the lack of ability to control its airspace and maritime areas, drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, human trafficking, and the trafficking of arms, ammunition, explosives, and contraband. In relation to the border with Mexico, it is worth mentioning the displacement of Mexican drug cartels into our territory with the purpose of controlling northern logistics routes. This causes certain territorial areas to have a strong presence from these organizations, which lobby for social control and encourage lawlessness in order to limit the presence of state authority. Because of its geographical location, Guatemala is a transit country for drugs produced in South America and bound for North America; it is also becoming a poppy producer in recent years and receives precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs, endangering the life and health of citizens. Organized and common criminal activities are increased by illicit drug operations. Drug trafficking is the criminal activity that causes the greatest impact ----- on the daily lives of Guatemalans in their development and the governance of the country. The crimes committed by drug traffickers are beyond our collective imagination, as evidenced by the killing of authorities, beheadings, and mutilations, which demonstrate the weakness and inability of state institutions to protect the population and territory. Human trafficking has taken on increased importance because of the illicit profits generated by such activity and its relation to human trafficking and other related activities arising from the country’s geostrategic position. Smuggling is an illegal activity that takes advantage of the vulnerabilities caused by corruption and impunity, decreasing State revenues and limiting its ability to provide better services to the population. Terrorism is a threat to friendly nations, since it can take advantage of Guatemala’s geostrategic position for the transit, rest, and planning of terrorist actions against targets of interest. Illegal armed groups engage in illicit activities such as kidnapping, operating drug trafficking networks, extortions, and contract killings in order to control and secure the strategic routes and territories that facilitate the movement of drugs, weapons, and people. They also infiltrate State institutions and corrupt local authorities who are responsible for security and justice, to ensure the success of their illegal activities by obtaining inside information, which is enabled by the environment of impunity. Femicide is a social phenomenon that is shown to be increasing in Guatemalan society in recent years in the form of violent deaths of women in various settings, mainly in domestic relations, human trafficking, and in the context of gender and power relationships between men and women. Common crime affects the individual’s personal and legal assets through continual assaults and robberies. Meanwhile, gang activity impacts the safety of individuals and their property, through extortion, murder for hire, and murder of drivers of public transport, which increase the perception of insecurity and fear, and reduce the quality of life of Guatemalans. The levels of violent acts against people generate a climate of distrust and uncertainty in the population. There were 25,612 violent deaths from 2008 to 2011, according to statistics from the National Institute of Forensic Sciences in Guatemala (INACIF), shown in the following table: |VIOLENT DEATHS 2008 - 2011|Col2|Col3|Col4|Col5| |---|---|---|---|---| |YEAR|STATISTICAL DATA FROM INACIF Men Women Total|||DAILY AVERAGE| |2008 2009 2010 2011 TOTAL|4,616 6,706 5,842 5,530 22,694|537 829 842 710 2,918|5,153 7,535 6,684 6,240 25,612|14.12 20.64 18.31 17.09| One can readily see the risks and vulnerabilities that affect the State of Guatemala in the above scenario. Some that stand out are: **Social Unrest. The level of unequal and insufficient development, coupled** with the legal uncertainty of land ownership, the limited availability of arable land, and the degradation and exploitation of natural and strategic resources generate constant unrest by means of the different approaches taken to focus attention and solve the demands and needs of the population. **Lack of Governance. This occurs when the Government’s lack of action to** achieve National Objectives erodes the legitimacy of public authority within the population, resulting in a loss of confidence and support for the political system. **Institutional Weakness. Guatemala has characteristics of a weak State. The** institutions in the National Security and Justice System are discredited by traits of inefficiency, corruption, and impunity, which have reduced the confidence of the population and have encouraged criminal evolution. The absence of the state in some regions of the country encourages an atmosphere of chaos that allows criminal organizations to develop and exercise local power. **Porous Borders. The existence of multiple illegal pedestrian and vehicular** passage points along the borders, with no government presence, demonstrates the porosity of the borders and encourages and facilitates the trafficking of drugs, weapons, ammunition, and explosives, the flow of undocumented immigrants, and smuggling. Source: Based on data obtained from INACIF. ----- **Natural, Social, and Technological Disasters. The country is highly vulnerable** because of its geographical location, which is aggravated by the social and economic situation, low levels of development, and high levels of poverty, inequality, and social exclusion. In this area, the country’s main problem is the lack of land management, resulting in illegal land invasions and social unrest, which require the intervention of security forces. **Pandemics, Epidemics and Endemics. There are risks to life and the overall** development of citizens who demand more attention from the State and society concerning infectious and contagious diseases transmitted from animals to humans or within the same species, which can put the population at risk. **The Territorial Dispute with Belize. The final resolution to the dispute is** in process. The imminent step forward is the Popular Referendum to be held in both countries in October 2013. The evolution of these threats, risks and vulnerabilities in the past decade provides a clear picture of the difficult and complex situation currently facing the State, which is affected by various forms of crime. #### CHALLENGES FACING THE STATE The security situation prevailing in the State of Guatemala, described above, poses important trials and challenges to the Government and various State agencies. Some that are highlighted, among others are: ###### LEGAL REFORMS The structural changes that must be made to National Security System institutions are based on reforms to the following laws: National Civil Police Law (PNC reform, creating the Criminal Investigation Police), Prison System Act (creation of the National Institute of Corrections and Rehabilitation), and the General Directorate of Immigration (creating the National Institute of Immigration and Naturalization Service). These changes must be made in accordance with the Covenant for Peace, Security and Justice, and the National Agreement for the Advancement of Security and Justice, proposed to be signed by the three branches of the State and the Attorney General. ###### STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP A political leadership committed to strategic national objectives is required to ensure the success of the National Security Policy; one that is able to build consensus among different actors and sectors of society to protect life, property, and the permanence of State institutions, and must be well-grounded in resultsbased management. ###### PREVENTING AND COMBATING CORRUPTION To achieve the goals outlined in this Policy, it is necessary to prevent and combat corruption and impunity within the legal framework. To regain the trust of the population, it is also crucial to achieve efficiency and effectiveness indicators to guarantee security and the prompt and effective administration of justice, while keeping the social welfare of the population in mind. ###### REDUCING CRIME RATES Institution building, comprehensive action from the Security and Justice System, and citizen participation are fundamental to reducing crime rates. The active participation of citizens, cooperation with authorities, and respect for the law, are an essential part of strengthening the democratic system and the Rule of Law. ###### CONTROL OF AIR, SEA, AND LAND SPACES The State’s control of its territory is imperative to ensure governability and democracy. In this regard, it is necessary to have adequate technological means to exercise control, dissuasive power, and to counter the current threats facing the State. ###### NATIONAL IDENTITY National identity implies a sense of belonging, identity, ability to recognize oneself as a member of a community, and being aware of one’s key role, which is built in everyday life in a formative process from the relationship between social actors. That is why the formation of the citizen is one of the most important goals of democracy. ###### CONTROL OF ARMS, AMMUNITION, AND EXPLOSIVES It is necessary to implement effective controls to counter illegal trafficking in arms, ammunition, and explosives into the country, to reduce the proliferation of firearms that endanger people’s lives and safety, since most violent deaths result from the use of these weapons. This is meant to comply with the United Nations conventions against Transnational Organized Crime and the InterAmerican Convention against the Manufacturing of and Illicit Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, and other related materials. It is also important to comply with the Arms and Ammunition Act to ensure the proper use of firearms, to help improve the security of individuals and society in general. ----- ## CHAPTER V. TRANSFORMATIONAL AXES AND STRATEGIC GUIDELINES #### TRANSFORMATIONAL AXES The transformational process for achieving a “secure and prosperous Guatemala” demands that resources be prioritized to ensure the protection of life, personal property, democratic institutions, the Rule of Law, and human rights. Likewise, in order to complement this national security effort, national identity, sustainable development, promoting international cooperation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, and contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security are also essential. A transformational axis is an element that defines the change process objective and is formed in the center that governs decision-making; it establishes strategic guidance and necessary action based on National Security Policy principles, which in this case are as follows: ###### SOCIO-HUMAN The person is the subject and object of this policy, considering that security is related to human development, with its natural rights, collective welfare, equity, and sustainability, so that one can free oneself from threats to life and property, with freedom and integrity. In this context, the State must address the problems concerning social conflict, as well as the restoration of the social fabric and national identity, based on inclusion and recognition of diversity, by meeting basic needs. In this regard, success requires the participation of State institutions and citizens at all levels in the areas of social and situational prevention. ###### POLITICAL-ECONOMIC The development of this policy requires improving and adjusting the body of law that governs the security and justice sector in order to complement the actions necessary to achieve objectives. Strengthening the State will facilitate the achievement of its goals and objectives, particularly in the security framework that will bring about the conditions for increasing economic activity, investment, and competitiveness, which will facilitate the satisfaction of the people’s basic needs, decrease social inequality, and will indirectly reduce crime rates. Due to the above, it will be possible to have the resources necessary for the proper implementation of this Policy and to increase them by means of specific taxes. International cooperation resources must be redirected, reconciled, and appro ----- ###### ENVIRONMENT The progressive destruction of the environment, caused by agricultural border expansion, inadequate exploitation of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, as well as inadequate social and productive interactions concerning the environment, threaten the existence of resources for future generations. The actions of National Security System institutions and the participation of communities, the private sector and the local authorities will be directed at contributing to the protection of natural resources: forests, watersheds and lake water, rainwater and groundwater sources, biodiversity, marine and coastal zones, and archaeological and subsurface assets; through the observation, implementation and modernization of environmental regulations, to facilitate the protection and exploitation of natural resources without causing social unrest or affecting the health of the people. The utilization of natural resources focused on proper land management directs the socioeconomic processes in regard to the use and potential for different soils and regions of the country, in order to improve the living conditions of the population and reduce environmental pollution with comprehensive activities that will address and overcome the consequences of climate change. ###### ENERGY Despite having natural resources for the production of clean, low cost, electrical energy that is in harmony with the environment, Guatemala is partially dependent on the generation of fossil fuels (oil and coal) that makes it vulnerable to price fluctuations and international supply availability. To overcome this vulnerability, it is necessary to enhance and protect the infrastructure and natural resources to ensure national energy matrix development, to strengthen energy independence, and to improve economic activity and quality of life for the population. ###### GEOSTRATEGIC Guatemala’s geographical position allows access to the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, with proximity to the largest market in the world composed of the countries belonging to the North America Free Trade Agreement and the countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum. This provides an opportunity to develop a logistics, energy, and tourism infrastructure to strengthen its economy. Likewise, its geographical position makes it vulnerable to natural phenomena caused by climate change, hurricanes, floods, fires, and volcanic eruptions, as well as drug trafficking, human trafficking and trafficking in arms, ammunition, and explosives. This makes it necessary to strengthen Guatemala’s participation in various international security organizations to regionally contribute and confront different ###### TECHNOLOGY Technology, as an ordered set of instruments, knowledge, procedures, and methods, must serve the country in a collaborative manner to achieve its national objectives. In the security arena, it is especially relevant for peaceful coexistence, tranquility, and national stability, as well as for the prevention of emergencies or disasters, and support for the security and justice system, to prevent and mitigate these situations with high technology products and systems. Using modern technology is a necessary condition for human development to ensure the provision of competitive services and food services. Competitiveness must be based on technical progress and innovation through strategic alliances focused on research leading to the development of products that allow us to achieve national development in the shortest time possible. ###### FOOD Guatemala is a forested country; however, most of the land is used for growing agricultural exports, livestock, and subsistence farming. In regard to subsistence farming, most of the rural population has high levels of poverty and malnutrition. In this regard, it is essential to coordinate the efforts of public, private, and international organizations in order to ensure the production and availability of food. This will allow everyone access to food in the quantity and quality that is culturally appropriate, emphasizing the most vulnerable members of society; the elderly, women, and children[20]; in order to maintain a healthy and active life. Generating community, public, and civic security conditions will improve the national and international investment to generate employment opportunities in rural areas, which will increase the productive capacity and purchasing power of the people to overcome the dietary crisis that causes malnutrition; primarily in communities affected by persistent droughts and extreme poverty. ###### INTELLIGENCE Qualitative and professional development of the National Intelligence System is indispensable to the effectiveness of this Policy and the National Security System. Making this a reality will allow the State to avail itself of timely, accurate, and relevant information to use for analysis and transformation into a useful product for threats, risks, and vulnerabilities. This will help to efficiently and effectively develop a transformational axis and strengthen the State’s capability to safeguard individuals, institutions, and sensitive information against hostile agents who seek to hinder the achievement of national objectives. ----- #### STRATEGIC GUIDELINES Development of transformational axes will be accomplished by establishing strategic guidelines that define standards or criteria to help guide decisions regarding the guidelines necessary to achieve established objectives. Strategic guidelines are defined by the following agenda: institutionalization, internal security, external security, risk management and civil defense, and intelligence. The five strategic guidelines described below were developed based on rigorous analytical modeling of the interrelated causes of insecurity in Guatemala. Each corresponds to a specific segment, which utilizes criteria from institutional responsibilities. Thus, strategic guidelines should be considered as mutually complementary, whereby the success of one is added to and completed in the success of others, and therefore it demands the Government’s comprehensive efforts to implement them. ###### STRATEGIC GUIDELINE: INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY SYSTEM Institutional weakness, little territorial presence, high levels of corruption and impunity, deficient human resource professionalization in the institutions that make up the Security and Justice System, as well as the limited allocation of financial resources and the actions of organized crime, create a deficiency in the performance of the system’s functions, particularly in the ability to protect life, liberty, justice, and ensuring the peaceful coexistence of the population. In this regard, the strengthening of the institutions that make up the National Security System is focused on transforming and generating better public services, making more effective decisions regarding the allocation of resources, and is in consonance with proposals made in the socio-human and political-economic transformational axes. This will be achieved through the allocation of adequate resources, changes in legislation, professionalization of human resources, reform of internal decisionmaking processes, and planning, management, and evaluation, which will improve society’s image of State institutions and the quality of response to crime. ###### Objective: To develop and strengthen the institutions of the National Security System (NSS). This is proposed in order to strengthen the institutional capabilities of the NSS and National Security Council agencies, to achieve effective, efficient, and coordinated operation, and to ensure individual security, freedom, the Rule of Law, human rights, and democratic institutions. The following program actions will be undertaken to achieve this objective, in view of the respective indicators, to ensure the simultaneous and coordinated |PROGRAM ACTIONS|INDICATORS| |---|---| |Develop and coordinate the institutional capacities of the National Security System.|Renew the institutional image in society and the quality of response to crime. Improvement of country competitiveness indices.| |Develop protocols for employing public and defense security forces, by emphasizing jurisdictions and the temporary nature of employment.|Improve interagency coordination and timely response.| |Strengthen the capabilities of the National Security Council and its agencies.|Modernize the coordination and performance eva- luation of National Security System institutions.| |Create the legal and institutional framework to strengthen the internal controls of security institutions.|Agreement establishing Inspectorates for NSS institutions.| |Develop a professional career field for National Security System Institutions.|Increased analytic capability and response of the National Security System. Update the Diplomatic Service Act.| |Systematize coordination and interagency inte- gration and develop command and control capa- bilities for emergency management, prevention, and combating violence and crime throughout the country.|Decreased response time from security and defense forces to national emergencies and to the public demands on fighting crime. Increased presence of State institutions across the country.| |Reform and effective implementation of the Inte- grity and Accountability Act for Public Employees.|Reduced corruption allegations correlated with institutions and penalties established for officials involved in corruption, coupled with legal backing.| |Formulate and implement criminal justice policies to diversify the possibilities of alternative sentencing.|Expanding the capacity for the care and protection of victims of violence and to those affected by hu- man rights violations.| |Strengthen diplomatic missions in matters related to foreign, domestic, and intelligence security.|Improvement of Guatemalan international rela- tions focused on foreign security.| |Allocate the resources necessary for National Secu- rity System institutions and NSS agencies to ensure that they can carry out their functions and provide for the welfare of their members.|Improved infrastructure, increased troop strength, and acquisition of equipment for security and defense force modernization to provide coverage throughout the national territory.Incremento del presupuesto al Sector Justicia.| |Strengthen the justice sector’s institutional capa- bilities by expanding coverage and ensuring the prompt and full application of justice and respect for due process.|Increase the Justice Sector’s budget. Expansion of Courts and Tribunals. Strengthen the Coordinating Body for the Moderni- zation of the Justice Sector.| Develop and update the Public Order Act to protect the public and provide full enjoyment of their rights. Amended Public Order Act. ----- ###### STRATEGIC GUIDELINE: **PROGRAM ACTIONS** ###### DEMOCRATIC HOMELAND SECURITY Develop social and situational prevention programs Guatemalan security has deteriorated due to the illegal activity of organized crime, to reduce violence. common crime, and gangs. Violent acts range from misdemeanors to those that undermine State institutions. This has caused the loss of control of public spaces, the weakening of security and justice institutions, and the perception that Guatemalans live in an unsafe environment. Internal security is the government administration’s main challenge. Reliance Develop civic and social programs with multi sectoral participation by favoring alternative on strengthened structures is necessary to articulate the political, strategic, ope dispute resolution and peaceful coexistence. rational, and tactical side of the National Security System, focused on a common goal, which should be the security of all inhabitants within the Republic. Conse Generate effectiveness in surveillance and border quently, this will decrease the levels of violence from common and organized control by increasing prevention, interdiction, and crime, subject to the provisions of the Constitution and the commitments that response forces capabilities. Guatemala has made in signed agreements. Develop public, civil, and community security. This objective is intended to help the public achieve its aspirations based on the development of social and situational prevention, with emphasis on the formulation and implementation of programs of action, such as safe spaces in homes, neighborhoods, cities, and borders. It is also meant to provide a safe means of Eradicate and substitute illicit crops. transportation to encourage work and personal activities in the streets, roads, Establish strategic alliances with research and on public transport conveyances, and in youth prevention programs. Likewise, teaching centers and public and private institutions it provides control measures and criminal investigation to fight crime and to to protect, socially readjust, and re-educate inmates. counter the trafficking of drugs, people, arms, ammunition, explosives, and con Establish effective interagency coordination mech traband. The control of violence and crime, the comprehensive care of victims, and anisms to confront, reduce, and neutralize criminal institution-building are necessary for citizens to improve their living conditions. organizations - gangs and organized crime. In this regard, security measures must be designed to protect the physical inte Design and develop the penal system infrastructure, grity, patrimony, and the exercise of the rights and freedoms of the country’s including courts, to conduct hearings and trials. residents, which is recognized by the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, with high impact socio-human and political-economic transformation. Creating the National Prison Institute and the Im migration and Naturalization Institute will improve ###### Objective: To ensure the protection of life, liberty, justice, security, rehabilitation and social readjustment, illegal im- peace, property and development of the whole person. migration controls, and immigrant support. The following program will be undertaken to achieve this goal, in view of the Develop protocols for combined arms operations and border, port, and airport security. respective indicators shown in the table below. Increase security and defense forces capabilities. Dismantle the illegal weapons and munitions **PROGRAM ACTIONS** **INDICATORS** market throughout the country, coupled with information campaigns to diminish the culture of Consolidate the Reform of the National Civil Improved crime prevention. carrying weapons. Police (PNC). Increased public confidence. Decreased criminal structures. Improved self-esteem of personnel. |PROGRAM ACTIONS|INDICATORS| |---|---| |PROGRAM ACTIONS|INDICATORS| |---|---| |Develop social and situational prevention programs to reduce violence.|Improvement of peaceful coexistence. Improvement of everyday activities. Increased confidence in the authorities. Reduced domestic violence, femicide and youth at risk. Increased participation of local authority.| |Develop civic and social programs with multi- sectoral participation by favoring alternative dispute resolution and peaceful coexistence.|Reduced social conflict related to gangs, drugs, and narcotics. Increased citizen participation in effective efforts to dismantle the organizational structure of gangs.| |Generate effectiveness in surveillance and border control by increasing prevention, interdiction, and response forces capabilities.|Increased air, maritime, and land interdiction of drug trafficking, smuggling, and trafficking of weapons and people.| |Develop public, civil, and community security.|Recovery of public areas that have been taken by crime. Improved control and collaboration with private security companies.| |Eradicate and substitute illicit crops.|Reintegrated growing areas in the national economy.| |Establish strategic alliances with research and teaching centers and public and private institutions to protect, socially readjust, and re-educate inmates.|Improvement in the rehabilitation and reintegra- tion of inmates.| |Establish effective interagency coordination mech- anisms to confront, reduce, and neutralize criminal organizations - gangs and organized crime.|Decreased need to protect judicial officials from the threat of organized crime. Reduced crime rates. Increased investment and economic activity.| |Design and develop the penal system infrastructure, including courts, to conduct hearings and trials.|Improved classification, reduction of prisoner escapes and riots.| |Creating the National Prison Institute and the Im- migration and Naturalization Institute will improve rehabilitation and social readjustment, illegal im- migration controls, and immigrant support.|Increased social reintegration. Decreased crime rates. Increased public confidence.| |Develop protocols for combined arms operations and border, port, and airport security.|Improved control of land spaces. Streamlined interagency coordination.| |Increase security and defense forces capabilities.|Wide coverage and operational coordination to provide timely responses from joint and combined interagency forces to take multiple simultaneous actions in critical areas of the national territory.| |Dismantle the illegal weapons and munitions market throughout the country, coupled with information campaigns to diminish the culture of carrying weapons.|Decreased crimes involving firearms.| ----- ###### STRATEGIC GUIDELINE: EXTERNAL SECURITY External security is defending Guatemala’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, peace, and the preservation and strengthening of international relations. Responsibility for External Security is the responsibility of the President of the Republic through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defense.[21]. Its purpose is to identify, prevent and counter the threats and risks that affect Guatemala’s security and have an external origin. Among these threats are transnational organized crime, primarily manifested by drug trafficking, trafficking of people and illicit arms, money laundering, and terrorism. Such threats exceed the capabilities of the State because of its inability to control the country, among other factors. Also, under the multidimensional approach to security, traditional threats remain dormant, so it is appropriate to mention the conflicts that could arise from the exploitation of natural strategic resources in the border areas for the benefit of the country’s energy and technology security. It is essential to improve the country’s external defense to protect Guatemala’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, peace, and international relations with a transformative impact on the geostrategic environment. Efforts to maintain external security are supported by treaties and international cooperation. ###### Objective: Contribute to the exercise of sovereignty, the defense of territorial integrity, and the promotion and maintenance of in- ternational peace and security to create an environment in which Guatemala can achieve its national interests. The following program will be undertaken to achieve this goal, in view of the respective indicators shown in the following table. |PROGRAM ACTIONS|INDICATORS| |---|---| |The defense and promotion of the rights and legitimate interests of the State in the international arena.|Create the Defense and Sovereignty Commission to achieve national interests. Implement an assistance and protection mecha- nism for Guatemalans abroad.| |Proactive participation in multilateral and bilateral organizations and mechanisms to pro- mote shared, but differentiated responsibility and international cooperation in combating transna- tional organized crime.|Promulgate legal instruments that establish alter- native mechanisms to confront narcoactivity. 22 Improvement in the levels of cooperation for the management and exchange of information and its effective use.| |Develop the legal, institutional, and budgetary rules that outline specific guidelines for institutions re- sponsible for national defense to follow in regard to foreign security.|Implement joint operations for the benefit of domestic security and increased national partici- pation in international peacekeeping operations for the benefit of foreign security.| |Protect the use and exploitation of national strate- gic resources to ensure national development. 23|Develop a National Policy that ensures Guatemala’s sovereignty over its strategic resources, including: a) exercising sovereignty over international waters and their respective watersheds and aquifers. b) exercising sovereignty over natural resources in the soil, subsoil, and seabed in areas adjacent to the national territory borders.| |Guarantee the territorial integrity and exercise of sovereignty in the land, sea, and air spaces in accordance with the provisions of the Constitu- tion and International Law.|Resolve the territorial and maritime dispute with Belize, while safeguarding Guatemala’s rights. Demarcate and maintain Guatemala’s geographical boundaries. Set normal and straight baselines in the Pacifci Ocean. Establish maritime borders with Mexico and El Salvador. Improve relationships with neighboring countries and illicit transnational activities. Steadily increase the domestic and foreign investment rates. Develop interagency border security programs.| |Maintenance of international peace and security under the Charter of the United Nations and the international treaties to which Guatemala is a party.|Maintain and increase participation in peace operations.| |Fomentar las relaciones y la cooperación internacional.|Implementación de medidas de confianza mutua, y fomento a la cooperación regional con el propósito de mejorar la seguridad y desarrollo de la región.| 22 The decriminalization proposal includes the following aspects: promoting the processes of analysis, research, debate, review and adaptation of strategies, and the regulatory framework, and reconciling it among the countries in the American Continent. ----- ###### STRATEGIC GUIDELINE: PROACTIVE RISK MANAGEMENT AND CIVIL DEFENSE The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) oversees the area of risk management and civil defense. This refers to events of a natural, social, and technological order that can affect people, property, and their surroundings. CONRED seeks to predict and prevent disasters, limit and reduce the damage from such disasters, and perform appropriate response and recovery actions. The scope of this strategic guideline aims to comply with the requirements for environmental, food, and technology safety and security actions, consistent with and articulated in their respective transformational axes. ###### Objective: Regulate the use of critical national resources and create effective mechanisms to prevent, mitigate, and respond to the country’s vulnerabilities with regard to natural disasters and damages caused by humans. The following program will be undertaken to achieve this goal, in view of the respective indicators shown in the table below. ###### STRATEGIC GUIDELINE: NATIONAL STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE National intelligence is the State’s institutional capability under the law to provide timely, accurate, and relevant information for decision-making, in order to provide national security by completing the intelligence cycle. It is an organized and continuous process of observation and analysis of the security environment, to know and interpret it, and to facilitate in deciding and acting effectively in the political-strategic context. The intent of this guideline is to gain greater knowledge that facilitates the efficient implementation of program activities developed in the socio-human, political-economic, environmental, energy, strategic environment, technology, food, and intelligence axes. This will be accomplished through the professionalization of the human resource system, methodologies, technology, and communication and interagency coordination spaces. ###### Objective: To provide the State with a National Intelligence System that can produce an impact on executive level decision-making based on the intelligence gathered. The following program will be undertaken to achieve this goal, in view of the respective indicators shown in the table below. |PROGRAM ACTIONS|INDICATORS| |---|---| |Establish liaisons and permanent interagency mechanisms to share intelligence in areas of competence, in the interest of public and national security.|Reduce strategic warning time and operational response of the security forces and civil defense in their specific and complementary activities.| |Develop an integrated information technology platform for the Command, Control, and Risk Management Center.|Decrease criminal activity from drug trafficking and organized crime as a result of intelligence- based operations.| |Strengthen cooperative relations with the intelligence services of other States.|Information sharing protocols.| |Train National Intelligence System personnel.|Increased quality of human resources and intelligence.| |Establish security measures and protection of information, intelligence, and human resources.|Improved protection and safeguarding of informa- tion, intelligence, and human resources.| |PROGRAM ACTIONS|INDICATORS| |---|---| |Ensure continuity of the government and public or- der in situations of national emergency and disaster.|Strengthen the continuity of public services and avoid social unrest.| |Recover forest cover as the principal mitigation measure in adapting to climate change.|Increase in watersheds, sub-basins and minor sources of water. Reduces erosion and soil loss. Maintains biodiversity.| |Land use planning for the wise use of natural re- sources as one of the risk prevention mechanisms.|Regulate productive development, housing, and transportation infrastructure. Regulate the use of strategic resources.| |Develop critical infrastructure for the prevention, planning, management, reduction, response and recovery from natural disasters and events.|Regulate and control construction in response to systematic and regular risk analyses.| |Establish legal instruments, regulations, and rules governing the mapping, protection, conservation, use, and exploitation of the country’s strategic natu- ral resources.|Reduce environmental conflicts related to the implementation of certification standards for safe production processes.| |Create a culture of risk prevention and mitigation in relation to the proper use of natural resources and environmental protection.|Maximize watershed management.| |Create a fund derived from the exploitation of natu- ral resources to compensate for exploitation and ensure sustainable use for future generations.|Increase the fund to develop natural resource recovery programs.| Develop the institutional framework necessary to activate civil defense in case of disaster Effective disaster mitigation and timely response. ----- ## CHAPTER VI. CHANGE MANAGEMENT, ASSESSMENT PROCESS, AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION #### CHANGE MANAGEMENT The changes proposed by the National Security Policy will be made through public administration that focuses its efforts in directing all human, financial, and technological resources, whether internal or external, towards achieving security and development results, which incorporates an organized use of policies, strategies, resources, and processes to improve decision-making, transparency, and accountability. This approach is designed to ensure consistency and coherence between the nation’s strategic objectives and results and the tasks of each of its institutions, through the systematization and monitoring of security indicators that provide an integrated view of the results derived from political-strategic and budgetary decisions, with respect to National Security. Its success entails professional competencies and techniques, “a change of attitude, positive thinking and an effort toward national transformation.”[24] The Professional Career Field for the National Security System will be the responsibility of the National Security Council through the Advisory and Planning Commission. The professional career field is mandatory and shall include education, training, professionalization, punishment, removal, evaluation, and promotion, in order to ensure that the personnel from the different components of the National Security System are appropriately qualified, service-minded, and ethical in the performance of their duties, with respect to the specialized area of each institution. The National Institute for Strategic Security Studies (NISSS) provides the training, professionalization, and specialization for the ideal national security personnel through the direction and coordination with different State educational institutions in the security field, to promote bachelor, master, and doctoral degree programs.[25] 24 Constitutional President of the Republic of Guatemala, Inaugural Address, January 14, 2012. ----- #### EVALUATION PROCESS The “results-based management” model will be applied to allow for the evaluation of quantitative and qualitative results, the scope and effect of implementation at various execution levels, as well as for cost-effectiveness analysis. The Technical Secretariat for the National Security Council will provide the corresponding follow-up to this Policy and shall report to the National Security Council on the progress of the strategic guidelines, objectives, and actions. Moreover, it will provide a critical analysis of the positive and negative actions for updating implementation plans and programs. The General Inspectorate for the National Security System is responsible for ensuring compliance with the system’s internal controls and shall submit recurring reports to the National Security Council. It will functionally coordinate its work with the inspectorates and control agencies from the ministries and institutions that make up the National Security System to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization, with respect to the legality and transparency of their activities in the use of allocated resources. The Congress and the Judicial Branch shall perform the National Security System’s external democratic controls, through their corresponding organizations and through a public social review. Also, a system shall be implemented that integrates data related to organized and common crime and its victims, which will be published periodically. [26] It should encourage participation to ensure citizen control over public action and the impact on the design, implementation and evaluation process of public policies in the national security arena. This information is important for evaluating the concrete results of program actions to demonstrate the value that each responsible institution adds to the security-building process. As a whole, these indicators define what still needs to be achieved in order to produce the desired security conditions in Guatemala. Citizen control is, among other mechanisms, an integrated space consisting of representatives from the organizational levels of Guatemalan society to perform a social review of the National Security System, among other functions, irrespective of the external control that other organizations, institutions, or individuals may exercise.[27] The Public Safety Observatory will be implemented to facilitate citizen control, which is an area to address issues related to National Security Policy. 26 National Agreement for the Advancement of Security and Justice, Concession 49 and 50. #### SOCIAL COMMUNICATION A communication strategy will be designed to enable all stakeholders, including the public, to know the content of the Policy, the progress in its implementation, and the results achieved. This strategy should define the different media that will be used for dissemination and outreach, with the goal of improving the public’s perception of security issues. ----- ## BIBLIOGRAPHY* _* Translator’s note: The original research texts are in Spanish, therefore there is no translation_ _for the Bibliography._ Acuerdo sobre Fortalecimiento del Poder Civil y Función del Ejército en una Sociedad Democrática (1996). México D.F. Aguilar Villanueva, Luis F., (1992). El Estudio de las Politicas Públicas. Miguel Ángel Porrua, México. Alta Comisionada de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos, (2012). Informe Anual Guatemala, Seguridad-18. Asamblea Nacional Constituyente (1985). Constitución Política de la República _de Guatemala. Guatemala._ Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales (2012-2015). Agenda Nacional. Banco Mundial, Departamento de Desarrollo Sostenible. (2011). Crimen y _Violencia en Centroamérica. Un Desafío para el Desarrollo. Región de América_ Latina y el Caribe: Banco Mundial. Consejo Asesor de Seguridad. (2011). Justicia y Seguridad, aspectos básicos para _la transición y gestión del periodo de Gobierno 2012-2016._ Consejo Asesor de Seguridad. (2010). Monitoreo del Funcionamiento del _Sistema Nacional de Seguridad._ Consejo Asesor de Seguridad. (2009). Línea de Base y Metodología para el _Monitoreo del Desarrollo y Funcionamiento del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad._ Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas. (2002). Política de Asentamientos Hu_manos en Áreas Protegidas de Petén. Guatemala._ Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales. Escuela de Postgrado. (2009). _Problemas del Estado de Derecho en Guatemala. Guatemala: Revista de Seminario_ de Doctorado en Derecho USAC. FLACSO, WSP-Internacional, IGEDEP. (2002). Hacia una Política de Seguridad _para la Democracia. FLACSO sede Guatemala, Guatemala. Tomos I y II._ García-Pablos de Molina, Antonio (2005). Criminología. Una introducción a sus _fundamentos teóricos. Valencia, Editorial Tirant Lo Blanch._ Gobierno Central, Congreso de la República, Corte Suprema de Justicia y Ministerio Público. (2009). Acuerdo Nacional para el Avance de la Seguridad y _la Justicia._ Gobierno de la República de Guatemala. (2012). Pacto por la Seguridad, la ----- Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos. Real Instituto ELCANO. (2011). _Panorama Estratégico 2010-2011. Madrid: Ministerio de la Defensa._ Ley Marco del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad, Decreto Número 18-2008. Ley de Armas y Municiones, Decreto Número 15-2009. Matute Rodríguez, Arturo y García Santiago, Iván. (2007) Informe estadístico de _la violencia en Guatemala. Programa de Seguridad Ciudadana y Prevención de la_ Violencia del PNUD-Guatemala. Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional. (2003). Departamento de Política de Defensa. _Libro de la Defensa Nacional de la República de Guatemala. Edición 2003._ Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional. (2005). Departamento de Política de Defensa. Política de Defensa como Política Pública. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (2012). Marco General de la Política _Exterior de Guatemala._ Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito (UNODC). (2010). _La globalización del delito: evaluación de la amenaza que plantea la delincuencia_ _organizada transnacional”. Viena._ Organización de los Estados Americanos OEA. (2003). Declaración de Seguridad _de las Américas. Conferencia Especial sobre Seguridad. México_ Parsons, Wayne (2007). Políticas Públicas. FLACSO. México Pérez Molina, Otto Fernando, Presidente de la República de Guatemala. _Discurso de toma de posesión. 14 de enero de 2012._ Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (2009-2010). Guatemala: _hacia un Estado para el desarrollo humano. Informe Nacional de Desarrollo_ Humano. Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (2010). Política Integral y _Sostenible de Seguridad Ciudadana y Promoción de la Paz Social._ Raza, Salvador, Centro de Estudios Hemisféricos de Defensa. (2011), Una _metodología de análisis de conflictos para la formulación de la política de seguridad_ _y estrategia._ Raza, Salvador, Centro de Estudios Hemisféricos de Defensa. (2005), The _Security and Defense Matrix: Concepts Matter in Defense Analysis?_ República de Colombia y Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional de Colombia (2003) _Política de Defensa y Seguridad Democrática._ Rico, José María y Chinchilla, Laura. (2002). Seguridad Ciudadana en América _Latina. Hacia una política integral. Siglo Veintiuno Editores. Buenos Aires, Argentina._ Roth Deubel, André-Noël. (2002). Políticas Públicas. Formulación, Implemen_tación y Evaluación. Editores Aurora. Bogotá DC._ Salazar, Ana María. (2002). Seguridad Nacional Hoy. El reto de las Democracias. Editorial Nuevo Siglo Aguilar. México DF. Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional. Universidad del Ejército y Fuerza Aérea. (2004). Nociones de Estrategia. México DF. Secretaría General SICA, (2011), Estrategia de Seguridad de Centroamérica. Secretaría General SICA. (1995). Tratado Marco de Seguridad Democrática. Secretaria Técnica del Consejo Nacional de Seguridad. (2012) ¿Despenalización o _Legalización? Cuadernos sobre Paz, Seguridad y Justicia. Número Uno. Tipografia_ Nacional de Guatemala, Guatemala. Sistema Nacional de Inteligencia (2012) Agenda de Nacional de Riesgos y _Amenazas de Guatemala._ Tratado Marco de Seguridad Democrática en Centroamérica (1995). Weinstein, M. (1998). Políticas de Equidad de Género y Participación de las _Mujeres. En Correa. E y M. Nóe (Editores)._ ----- ## GLOSSARY **Collective Security: the manner of confronting aggression from one State** against the territorial integrity or inviolability, sovereignty, or political independence of another State. **Cooperative Security: describes a broad group of international mechanisms,** and generally refers to the terms under which States cooperate to deter, prevent, detect, or deal with violence and aggression. It incorporates three types of mechanisms: a) measures to strengthen trust, such as information on military doctrine, size, and strength of the armed forces, or defense spending, and it is reinforced with frequent contacts between those that dictate defense policies and those that lead the armed forces; b) measures designed to resolve disputes peacefully: negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement of disputes, or filing appeals with multilateral organizations (UN and OAS), to secure peaceful settlement, and c) the use of joint forces to stop international aggression. Collective security mechanisms should be distinguished from military alliances as such; they are formed to maintain a global balance of power against a common enemy. **Critical Infrastructure: the facilities, systems, networks, hardware, services,** and information technology, whose disabling or destruction would have a negative impact on the population, public health, security, economic activity, environment, free movement, democratic governance, and effective functioning of the State. **External security: the area of external security includes risks and threats to** the State resulting from external factors. In this regard, the assets to protect are Guatemala’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, peace, and international relations. **Femicide: violent death of women occurring in the context of unequal power** relationships between men and women, in the exercise of power and dominance against women. **Hemispheric Security: is mutual assistance to face an attack in the exercise** of the imminent right of legitimate individual or collective defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. Hemispheric security provides that an armed attack by any State against an American State shall be considered an attack against all the American States, and therefore, each of the ----- **Intelligence Cycle: The set of activities undertaken by the National Intelli-** gence System institutions which includes: planning, identifying, collecting, processing, analyzing, producing, distributing, and disseminating information in a timely manner for decision-making at the highest level of the National Security System. **Intelligence System: is the set of institutions, procedures, and rules that** deal with the threats and risks to national security in a preventive manner, through the necessary coordination of the functions of strategic, civil, and military intelligence, as well as each one of them in its own domain. **Internal security: the field of internal security includes the risks and threats** from common and organized crime. In this respect, the assets to protect are mainly related to the life, physical integrity, patrimony, and exercise of the rights and freedoms recognized by the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala to the inhabitants of the country. **National Security Council: permanently established to coordinate within** the National Security System, define strategies and policies, and advise the President in making security decisions. It is chaired by the President, who makes all decisions. **National Security System: the institutional, instrumental, and functional** framework available to the State to meet the security challenges it encounters through interagency coordination at the highest level. It is subject to democratic controls and it includes the areas of internal and external security, state intelligence, and risk management and civil defense. **Organized criminal group or criminal organization: an organized criminal** group or criminal organization is considered to be any structured group of three or more persons, existing for a certain period of time and acting in concert with the purpose of committing one or more of the offenses listed in the Organized Crime Act, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial gain of any kind for themselves or for a third party. **Risks and Threats Agenda: consists of the current list of topics resulting** from ongoing analysis. It identifies threats, vulnerabilities, and risks to national security, public welfare, and the development of society and the stability of its institutions. Its effects should be avoided and controlled by the respective institutions and were not captured in the Development Agenda. **Risk Management and Civil Defense: the field of risk management and civil** defense, under the responsibility of the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED), refers to the events of a natural, social, and technological order that can affect the population or their property and surroundings. CONRED seeks to predict and prevent disasters, limit and reduce damage from such isasters, and perform the appropriate response and recovery actions. **State Intelligence: the State’s ability to articulate information and intelli-** gence on internal and external threats, risks, and vulnerabilities within the functions established in this law. It acts under the responsibility of the President, through the Secretary of State for Strategic Intelligence. **Strategic natural resource: all scarce natural resources that are vital or** potentially vital for economic development or to maintain a country’s quality of life. **Strategic Security Agenda: is the mechanism by which the State establishes** thematic relevance in the overall area of security; defines and prioritizes instruments of a preventive or reactive nature to ensure national security. **Strategic Security Plan: determines the set of actions that should be under-** taken by National Security System institutions to maintain national security. It contains the mission, key actions, strategies, and objectives of the National Security System, based on the National Strategic Security Agenda and the Risk and Threat Agenda. ----- ----- ----- #### Guatemala today needs the efforts of all her children, the time has come to keep our promise to the nation. Let’s face the sluggish progress together, let’s face our develop- mental challenges together. ##### OTTO PÉREZ MOLINA -----