Self-Styled Justice in Guatemala. ‘Social Cleansing’ Squads, Though Welcomed by Some, Evoke Horrors of Long Civil War

“SANTIAGO ATITLAN, Guatemala — People here call it limpieza social , Spanish for “social cleansing.” But the recent surge in armed abductions and murders by self-appointed anti-crime squads throughout Guatemala is leaving a messy trail of blood and tears.

Almost every night, teams of gunmen storm into the nation’s poorest neighborhoods to seize another man, woman, or teenager deemed guilty of wrongdoing. Almost every morning, another corpse turns up showing signs of torture or strangulation.”

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