Guatemala’s Ambulance Drivers: On the Frontlines of America’s Drug War

A small army of volunteer firefighters and paramedics help to
protect Guatemala City, a hub for the narco trade and one of the
most violent places on earth. 

Originally released on June 26, 2014:

Guatemala is a major drug corridor between South America and
Mexico. Narco gangs thrive in rural areas and along the
southeastern border, while street gangs who profit from extortion,
kidnapping, and bribery dominate the urban centers. As a result,
the country’s capital, Guatemala City, has one of the highest
murder rates in the world.

This is the environment in which Guatemala’s bomberos
voluntarios—a phrase that roughly translates to “volunteer
firefighters” but really encompasses a group of first responders
who act as firefighters, ambulance drivers, and paramedics—operate
every day.

When Reason TV visited the headquarters of Guatemala City’s
official, government-sanctioned and -funded first responders—the
bomberos municipales—officials downplayed the city’s drug and
violence problems and insisted that Guatemala is a safe place to
live and visit. But the voluntarios, who receive some money from
the government but seemingly maintain enough independence to avoid
the same level of political pressure, had a different story to
tell.

“The municipal bomberos receive funding from the government and
the municipality,” says Herber Diaz, one of the few paid, full-time
paramedics on the force. “They have more equipment, and more
people. But the trust the people have in us is there because we do
everything. They’re selective in their job.” 

Watch the above video for an intense look inside the world of
Guatemala’s volunteer bomberos, a group of men who on a daily basis
save lives, race along treacherous roads where motorists are slow
to pull over, and witness the results of cold-blooded executions on
the city streets, all in a country with a government corrupted by
organized crime, and all for little or no pay.

Approximately 5 minutes. Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Field
Production by Ross Kenyon and Zachary Caceres. Music by Chris
Zabriskie.