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Story July 9, 2014

Legacy of Bloodshed Hangs Over Guatemala

Country:

Guatemala

Author:

Carlos Javier Ortiz
Grantee

A hug. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

English

“Too Young to Die” is a long-term exploration of the tragedy gun violence exacts on Chicago’s...

Carlos Javier Ortiz
Grantee

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Protesters angry over allegations of voter fraud burn tires, blocking the highway, before setting fire to the mayor’s office in Palin, Guatemala. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2008.

The 2007 presidential election in Guatemala was one of the most violent since the country’s civil war ended in 1996. Guatemala is a major hub for Colombian cocaine as makes its way to the United States. Guatemala has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

A view of the landscape in San Pedro Jocopilas, Guatemala. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

An overpass in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

The scene where a taxi driver was shot to death by a 16-year-old in Ciudad Mixco, Guatemala, in 2013. Young people are disproportionately affected by gun violence in Guatemala, part of the Northern Triangle of Central America, which is currently one of most violent regions in the world. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

People pay their respects to family members during Day of the Dead celebrations in Santiago de Sacatepequez. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

Gang graffiti is prevalent in Zone 6 of Guatemala City, where gun violence is an epidemic that affects youth from all walks of life. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala.

Michael Ren Coyoy Hernandez, 14, was shot six times by teenage perpetrators who drove by on a motorcycle and opened fire on him. His body is seen here in Guatemala City. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

Guatemalan police and the Bomberos Municipales attend to victims of extortion after two young men, who were later caught by the police, extorted a woman and her daughter for money in Guatemala City. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

A security guard armed with a shotgun in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

A 10-year-old boy receives medical attention from a fireman after he was shot in the hand, in 2013. The boy was an innocent bystander at a shooting that took place at a wake for another teenager that was killed two nights before. The Guatemalan police, PNC, believed that all the shootings were gang-related. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

A supporter of presidential candidate Otto Perez Molina, of the Patriotic Party, waits for his arrival before a rally in Santa Cruz de Quiche, Guatemala. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

Deportees meet with their families outside of Guatemala’s airport, in Guatemala City. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

MS13 gang members flash their gang signs while handcuffed, in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

A young man gets help from the Bomberos Municipales after a night of drinking, in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

Street children sniff glue to get high in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

Edwin Aroldo Lalimayr, 19, seeks support from his church, Ministerios Hechos de Guatemala outside of Ciudad Mixco, in 2013. The church helps homeless men and women who abuse drugs and alcohol by providing them with showers and meals on Sundays. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

Edwin Aroldo Lalimayr, 19, at his church outside of Ciudad Mixco, Guatemala. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

A MS13 gang member lies on a bed in Guatemala City’s Roosevelt Hospital after being injured in a prison fight. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

Masked protesters take to the streets of Palin, Guatemala as black smoke rises behind them. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

A patient waits for treatment at Guatemala City’s Roosevelt Hospital after he was beaten and robbed. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

Boys between the ages of 10 and 17 are deported back to Guatemala City, Guatemala, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

A boy under the age of 15 returns back to his homeland of Guatemala after being deported from the U.S., in Guatemala City. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

The church, Ministerios Hechos de Guatemala, outside of Ciudad Mixco, helps homeless men and women who abuse drugs and alcohol by providing them with showers and meals on Sundays. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

A coffin near the city morgue in Guatemala City. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2013.

Members of a citizen security group patrol the streets of Guatemala City’s “Barcenas” neighborhood, carrying shotguns and machetes. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

Supporters of presidential candidate Otto Perez Molina, of the Patriotic Party, wait for his arrival before a rally in Guatemala City. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

An armed citizen security group member stops to look at a car, which its members recently shot up during a drive-by shooting, in Guatemala City. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

A local street kid is stopped by a citizen security patrol member in Guatemala City. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

A view of a Catholic church in Santa Cruz de Quiche, in Guatemala City. Image by Carlos Javier Ortiz. Guatemala, 2007.

In an interview with Elissa Curtis and Amanda Sakuma from MSNBC, Carlos Javier Ortiz explores the causes of migration from Guatemala to the southwest border of the United States.

"The violence is everywhere," said photographer Carlos Javier Ortiz, who has documented the poverty and crime in the region with his project El Sueño. "It's something that hasn't really escaped the country since the civil war."

Read the full interview.