Because of factors such as business closures and lack of opportunities, it is estimated that criminal activity costs Honduras and El Salvador 16% of GDP, and in the case of Guatemala, its losses could amount to 7% of its production.
In Central America, the human costs of crime remain one of the highest in the world. El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—referred to as the Northern Triangle— account for about four-and-a-half percent of homicides worldwide despite only having about one-half-percent of the world's population.
One in five companies claims to have been a victim of crime this year, and 80% say that about 10% of their operating costs correspond to security.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector (UCCAEP):
December 18, 2017The situation of insecurity that the country is experiencing is also hitting private sector companies hard.This has been revealed by the IV Quarterly Business Survey "Pulso Empresarial" (Business Pulse), prepared by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP).
Added to the production costs assumed by Salvadoran sugarcane growers during the harvest is expenditure to be made on private security and support for the police to prevent theft and extortion.
Sugarcane growers have allocated a budget for additional security costs which must be assumed due to increased threats and extortion by criminals.
Limits to the number of contracted officers and other legal conditions are forcing large security companies to create smaller subsidiaries dedicated to providing services in specific areas.
So far this year 145 new security companies have registered with the Ministry of Public Security, about the same number of new businesses created during 2013, when there were 150. Including those who came into the market this year the total number of companies authorized to provide private security services in the country is 1,539.
Just on the hiring of private security services companies spend $243 million per year, on top of the payments made to those extortingtransport carriers on the roads.
These unpunished crimes are not just affecting freight companies operating in the country, but are also increasingly reducing the possibility Guatemala has to attract more and better foreign investment which would contribute to its socioeconomic development.
Between 2003 and 2013 the number of registered services to provide private security companies increased 13 times.
A report by the Comptroller General of the Republic specifies that added to companies providing security services are also individuals registered as agents, which to date amounts to 29,582 people. The Comptroller noted that this rapid growth has created weaknesses in the supervision of this activity by the state, which does not have, according to the institution, sufficient resources to exercise proper control.
Drug trafficking and gangs are the main factors responsible for intentional murders in the most violent countries in the world: Honduras, Belize, El Salvador and Guatemala.
According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime at the United Nations (UNODC), in 2012 Honduras recorded 90.4 killings per 100,000 inhabitants.
Despite the increase in extortion payments, 33 drivers died at the hands of criminals in 2013.
Catalino Miranda, representing the Federation of Transport Unions (FECOATRANS) said "this amount of money was paid by the employers of the 10,500 units that exist at the national level." In 2012 it reported $18 million in extortion payments.
Guatemalan agricultural employers spend $300 million on private security representing between 12% and 16% of their budgets.
Prensalibre.com reports that "the Chamber of Agriculture (Camagro) reported that during 2013 there was an increase in criminal acts such as kidnappings, threats and extortions against their workers, as well as the theft and destruction of private property ... "
Companies use up to 12% of their budgets to provide security for their transportation teams.
In an article in Prensalibre.com, Carolina Castellanos, executive director of AmCham, said that the road blockades are causing uncertainty for companies and that it is impacting on the cost of products, causing them to rise.
A survey of 355 tourism companies and hotels points to the cost of power and insecurity as the main obstacles for the tourism sector.
Hotel occupancy in 2012 was 52%, down 3% compared to the figures reported in 2011. The survey conducted by the Association for Research and Social Studies (ASIES) reveals that 71% of operators did not have their expectations met last year regarding the number of tourists expected for Oxlajuj Baktun.
The phenomenon affects much of Latin America, whose countries spend on average 8% of their GDP on security costs.
That was the conclusion reached during the forum "Connecting businesses as partners for prosperity with security in the Americas", organized by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the private sector, under the framework of the Guatemala Investment Summit.
A survey of Salvadoran entrepreneurs reveals that during 2012, 66% of their companies or their staff were affected up to twice by extortion, kidnapping and murder.
The Survey ENADE 2013 assesses businesses' perception of the performance of government officials, in public safety, fiscal policy and democratic institutions.
In El Salvador, the state budget allocated to security is $500 million a year, while the total amount invested by private enterprises for self-protection is $600 million.
"The combined budgets (National Civil Police, the Attorney General's Office and the Armed Forces of El Salvador) total about $500 million and the private sector invests over $600 million annually on security issues," said Jorge Daboub, president of the National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP).
Operating Company dedicated to the manufacture of gluten-free and sugar-free products, OHNE brand. The OHNE brand has 8 product lines: square bread, sweet...
español
2467
