Is Guatemala City One of The Most Dangerous Capitals in the World? Murders Happen Every 90 Minutes

Guatemala was dubbed as one of the most dangerous cities in the world because of its high crime rates and murders. The Central American country has been plagued with gangs, guns, and corruption for quite a while now.

According to Daily Mail, every 90 minutes someone has been murdered in the city of Guatemala. In fact, corpses are commonly left lying in public places by the killers, which serve as deadly message to communities that they will do what they want. 

Saul Martinez, a renowned photographer from the country, took pictures of the victims' dead bodies and gave a "no-holds-barred" revelation of how it was like to live in one of the most dangerous capitals in the world.

The artist told Daily Mail that the worst thing he had seen were body parts, like like heads and limbs, which were left anywhere. The body parts were discovered at least a couple of times every single month, while the brutalities were happening every day.

"I talked to a gang member once and I asked him how he got into this. He said, 'Nobody grows up wanting to kill people, but where I grew up if I didn't become part of a gang they'd kill me or kill my family.' After a while he got a status, power and respect within his gang and he started liking la Vida Loca," Martinez explained.

He admitted that he chose to live in Long Island, New York with his American mother, but in spite of it, he still can't help but be affected by what he witnessed in Guatemala. However, Latin Correspondent reported it has been known that Guatemala's Civil War, fortunately, ended with a peace agreement in 1996.

In fact, in the same era, other Latin American countries, like Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay suffered the same depression of being under cruel dictatorship. However, Guatemala's Civil War was the bloodiest compared to other regions and lasted 36 years, from 1960 to 1996 -- 36 years. 

About 200,000 Guatemalans gave up their lives, who were mostly Mayan indigenous people. Evidently, Guatemala has a deep scar from what happened to them in the past. They need a great government to help them stand up and leave their sorrowful past behind. 

Unfortunately, the South of Mexico is still under the hold of the influential people who were responsible for the Civil War. "The people who had fought Guatemala's genocidal dirty war didn't go to jail -- they went straight to the bank," Vox Media revealed.

Watch this short documentary about Guatemalan Civil War by Journeyman Pictures: